《玄天上帝啟聖錄》一書,是研究真武信仰所必讀之書,此書現收於《正統道藏》中,不題撰人及撰作年代。學者或以為是元明時人所撰。但筆者據南宋初陳伀《太上說玄天大聖真武本傳神咒妙經注》及李昌齡《太上感應篇注》二書,由二人注中找出徵引《董真君降筆實錄》及《啟聖記》之明徵暗引文字,共計數十條,拿來和今道藏本《玄天上帝啟聖錄》相比對,發現《玄天上帝啟聖錄》一書即是南宋孝宗朝道士張明道扶鸞,托名董素皇真君降筆所寫成的;而其書亦即是根據北宋仁宗朝宋庠奉旨所編《真武啟聖記》,加以增編而來,所增加的部分,偏重在《玄天上帝啟聖錄》卷一玄帝生平事蹟的描述;自卷二至卷八則是真武供祭儀法及靈應事蹟,絶大部分仍沿承《真武啟聖記》所載;其中《玄天上帝啟聖錄》卷八末尾的〈敘功賜銜〉係皇帝封贈之文,未說明何帝?乃是直接承襲《真武啟聖記》原文,宋庠載當時皇帝宋仁宗封贈之文,自不必說明何帝所封贈。這些都足以說明《玄天上帝啟聖錄》承襲自《真武啟聖記》。其書由於託名玄帝輔臣董素皇據實所錄,所以將改寫後的《真武啟聖記》,改稱為《玄天上帝啟聖錄》,南宋陳伀注稱之為《董真君降筆實錄》。
The name of the god of the north, Xuanwu 玄武, was changed to Zhenwu 真武in accordance with a taboo on the use of the character 'xuan'. The god was honoured as Xuantian Shangdi 玄天上帝in the Song Dynasty. The Xuantian shangdi qishenglu 玄天上帝啟聖錄 records the deeds of Xuantian Shangdi. It is a necessary tool for study of belief in Zhenwu. The book forms part of the Orthodox Daoist canon. This article investigates the date when the book was written and its subsequent effect on belief in Zhenwu. It suggests that the book was written by Zhang Mingdao 張明道 in the Song Dynasty.