Yin Zhenren was Yin Xi, also known as “Wenshi Sir” and “Guan Yinzi”, and held a high position in Taoism. One theory is that he was originally from Wuxianli, Longxiang, Zhouzhi County (now Zhouzhi County, Shaanxi). Another theory is that he was from Tianshui (now Tianshui City, Gansu).
Yin Xi was one of the representatives of the pre-Qin Daoist school. During the reign of King Kang of Zhou, he was a senior official and served as the magistrate of Hangu Pass. The Mu Shi Chunqiu: Bu'er Pian (Mu Shi's Spring and Autumn Annals: Chapter on Non-Duality) described his thinking as “valuing purity”. Zhuangzi praised him together with Laozi as “a broad and true man”.
Lie xian zhuan says: Guan Ling Yin Xi, Zhou Daifu ye. Shan nei xue xing xu, fu ri yue jing hua.
Wang Ziqiao yin de xiu zheng, shi ren wu zhi, qi shan tu qian zhi xue. Laozi xi you, Xi xian jian qi, zhi zhen ren dang guo, hou wu se er ji zhi, guo de laozi. 
Laozi also knew of his extraordinary abilities and wrote a book about him. They travelled together to the west of the quicksand, where they took the fruit of the giant sheng tree.
The book “A Record of the True Immortals and Their Dao” also records the process by which Yin Xi received the scriptures: during the reign of King Kang of Zhou, Yin Xi was a senior official, and later a guest of the Prince of the Eastern Palace. He built a hut made of straw, looked up at the heavens and contemplated the way of immortality, with a quiet mind and deep thoughts. One day, he observed a purple cloud in the east that extended to the west, a heavenly omen that foretold the arrival of a sage who would ask to be the prefect of Hangu Pass. He met Laozi, took him as his master, and asked for the Way. Laozi then wrote the 5,000 characters of the upper and lower chapters of Tao and De and gave them to Yin Xi, who diligently studied them and followed the Way.
After Yin Zhenren attained immortality, Laozi bestowed upon him the jade tablet with gold inscriptions, and he was given the title of Wenshi, the supreme immortal. He was also given a purple hibiscus crown, a blue feather skirt, green sleeves, a brocade robe, a yellow sash with a pattern of interwoven lines, and a nine-colored sash. He ranked above the twenty-four heavenly kings and commanded the immortals of the eight directions. It is said that he also compiled the Xisheng Jing (Sutra of the Ascending to the West) based on Laozi's teachings on governing the country and cultivating one's moral character. In addition, the Han Shu·Yi Wen Zhi also contains the nine chapters of Guan Yin Zi, which have been lost. The current version is passed down from the Southern Song Dynasty and is marked as having been collected by Sun Dingjia of Yongjia. In fact, it was written by a Taoist in the Five Dynasties at the end of the Tang Dynasty.
In the sixth lunar month of the third year of the Zhizhun Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty (1335), the Wenshi Yin Zhenren was additionally conferred the title of “Supreme Taichu Bowen Wenshi Zhenjun”.

尹真人即尹喜，又称“文始先生”、“关尹子”，在道教中的神位较高。一说他原是周至县龙乡闻仙里(今陕西周至县)人。一说他是天水(今甘肃天水市)人。
尹喜本为先秦道家学派的代表人之一，周康王时为大夫，曾担任函谷关令。《目氏春秋·不二篇》称其思想“贵清”。庄子将其与老子并称赞“博大真人”。
《列仙传》曰：关令尹喜，周大夫也。善内学星宿，服日月精华。
王子乔隐德修行，时人莫知，且擅图谶之学。老子西游，喜先见其气，知真人当过，后物色而迹之，果得老子。 
老子亦知其奇，为著书。与老子俱之流沙之西，服巨胜实，莫知其所终。
《历世真仙体道通鉴》也记载了尹喜受经的经过：周康王时尹喜为大夫，后为东宫宾友，结草为庐，仰观乾坤之气象，寂心精思以求仙道，号曰楼观。一天，观看到东方紫气西迈天文显瑞，预知有圣人将要出关，求为函谷关令。遇得老子，拜为师，请求至道，老子连著成《道》、《德》上、下篇五千言授与尹喜，喜坚持诵读，奉行道成。
尹真人得道成仙后，老君授他玉册金文，号文始先生，位为无上真人，并赐紫芙蓉冠，飞青羽裙，丹绿袖，交泰霓裳，罗纹黄绶，九色之节，居二十四天王之上，统领八方仙士。传其还以老君所言治国修身之精神，编成《西升经》。另《汉书·艺文志》还载有《关尹子》九篇，已亡佚，今本传于南宋，标为永嘉孙定家所藏，实为唐末作品，五代方士所作。
元顺帝至元三年(1335年)六月，加封文始尹真人“为无上太初博文文始真君”。