The Five Elder Lords 五老君

The "Five Elder Lords" are five celestial deities revered in early Taoism, whose status is on a par with the "Three Pure Ones" (Sanqing). Specifically, the Five Elder Lords are as follows:

The Five Elder Lords were the highest-ranking deities before the "Three Pure Ones" became mainstream. They were originally objects of worship by emperors of successive dynasties and were later incorporated into the Taoist pantheon. "In the heavens, they are called the Five Elder Gods; in astronomy, they correspond to the Five Emperors' Thrones and the five planets in the five directions; among spirits, they are the Five Emperors of the Five Directions; in mountains, they are the Sacred Emperors of the Five Great Mountains; and in the human body, they are the spirit lords of the five internal organs."

In the Taoist pantheon, the Five Elder Lords have no specific duties but hold an exalted status. Taoism refers to them as the "Five Primordial Elders", who, like Yuanshi Tianzun (the Celestial Venerable of Primordial Beginning), attained their true nature not through acquired learning. They are also known as the "Origin of the Five Elements" and the "Ancestor of the Five Qis (vital energies)".