The five ancients

Accompanied by animals that symbolize longevity, the five elderly gentlemen depicted in this painting may represent China's Five Sacred Mountains, the Five Elements of the Cosmos, or the Five Oldsters of Suiyang, high-ranking ministers of the eleventh century who were admired for serving in office past age eighty. The spirit of the Five Sacred Mountains are associated with the immortals. Originally, the painting was larger. Mounted in a wooden frame, it may have been used as a screen placed behind an honored person's chair.