Scripture of Primordial Response and Transformation 元始应变历化经

The author is unknown.

It is believed to have been compiled during the Northern and Southern Dynasties of Ancient China or between the Sui and Tang dynasties.

It was not included in the Zhengtong Daozang (Orthodox Taoist Canon) but was recorded in the Daozang Quejing Mulu (Catalogue of Missing Taoist Scriptures). An existing incomplete Dunhuang manuscript (S2449) preserves approximately 145 lines of the scripture. Falsely attributed to a dialogue between the Supreme Laozi and the Heavenly Lord, this scripture narrates the transformations of the primordial Dao-qi alongside kalpas between heaven and earth, as well as the karmic causes and retributions of all sentient beings. The so-called primordial Dao-qi refers to the initial qi that generates heaven, earth, all things, and all sentient beings—namely the qi generated by the Dao as expounded by Laozi. As a classic embodying Taoism doctrines, its core concepts are rooted in the fundamental philosophy of the Dao.