The five old masters are the five gods respected by early Taoism, that is, the old master of Lin Qingling, Baohua, Dong 'an, referred to as Qingling Old Emperor for short; Laojun of Danling Town, Changyang, Van Gogh in the South, referred to as Laochi Emperor of Dan Ling Town for short; Central Yubao Yuanling Laojun, referred to as Yuanling veteran Huangdi Jun; The Seven Treasures of the West, the Old King of Kinmen and Ling Hao, or the Old White Emperor of Ling Hao for short; The cave in the north is gloomy, and it is definitely a mysterious old man with five spirits, referred to as mysterious old Hei Di with five spirits for short.

Five old people are the essence of five stars in myths and legends. In the Chronicle of Bamboo Books, it was said that "Shun and others were led to the mountains first, and Zhu followed the river, and five old people swam and covered the essence of five stars." "The five old emperors are all gods of innocence and nature, so in the early Yuan Dynasty, they were said to be five old emperors, not people who learned the Tao after learning it." According to Taoist records, there are five "Little Red Book Jade Articles", which are in the charge of Mr. Wu Lao.

The Little Red Book Jade Piece is the knowledge of managing the world, so it has become the follow-up of managing the world for later generations. When Jin Yunzhong discussed the Five Elders in the Southern Song Dynasty, he thought that "the Five Elders are the root of the Five Qi, and the Five Elements are also the foundation".