Taishang Laojun Kaitian Jing 太上老君开天经

A Taoist classic compiled during the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

Volume 12 of Guanghongming Ji (Expanded Collection of Propagating Brightness) records Juedui Fu Yi Fei Foseng Shi (Refutation of Fu Yi’s Proposal to Abolish Buddhism and Monks), which states: "The Kaitian Jing was written by Zhang Pan", referring to this very scripture. The existing version has one volume and is included in the Xu Daozang (Supplementary Taoist Canon). It is also recorded in Volume 2 of Yunji Qiqian (Seven Bamboo Tablets of the Cloudy Satchel). The scripture expounds on the history of the Supreme Lord Lao creating the universe, heaven, earth, all things and human beings. It claims that the creation of heaven and earth went through stages including Hongyuan (Primal Origin), Hunyuan (Primordial Chaos), Taichu (Grand Beginning), Taishi (Grand Origin), Taisu (Grand Simplicity), Hundun (Chaos), Jiugong (Nine Palaces) and Yuanhuang (Primordial Sovereign). Human society also went through the reigns of the Three Sovereigns, the Five Emperors and the Three Kings of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. The Lord Lao descended to the mortal world in different incarnations throughout all ages, imparting scriptures and teachings to govern the world. For instance, during the Taichu era, the Lord Lao descended from the void to serve as the teacher of the Grand Beginning, and recited the entire Kaitian Jing from his mouth, after which heaven and earth began to separate. The clear qi rose upward to form heaven, while the turbid qi sank downward to form earth. The essences of heaven and earth merged to give birth to human beings, and all other things came into being by receiving qi respectively. In addition, the scripture proclaims that the Lord Lao descended to the mortal world in incarnations to serve as the teacher of the Three Sovereigns, the Five Emperors and the Three Kings, "urging all to practice goodness".

Taishang Laojun Kaitian Jing

The content of the entire book is in fact a Taoist creation myth, whose core cosmological view is deeply embedded in the theoretical system of Taoism, and its narrative of the origin of all things echoes the Taiji philosophy recorded in the Daozang (Taoist Canon).