There is a grimoire card I found to be particularly interesting to me that includes an excerpt from a classical Chinese poem by Sū Shì.
The poem in question is 水調歌頭·丙辰中秋 shuǐdiào gētóu – bǐngchén zhōngqiū and would be sung to a melody when read.
Grimoire card "The Ocean of Storms"
唯恐瓊樓玉宇,
高處不勝寒。
起舞弄清影,
何似在人間。
- Poem Excerpt, 蘇軾, Chinese poet, Song Dynasty, Old Earth
"The support base centered here marks what most believe was the first off-Earth colony.
It was here that we came face-to-face with Crota and his legions, a force so powerful we abandoned the Moon. Now, Hive temples breach the surface, entrances into the vast necropolis below, and Guardians venture into the depths to seek revenge - most never to return."
The entire poem looks like this:
[spoiler]水調歌頭
Thinking of you
丙辰中秋,
歡飲達旦,
大醉,
作此篇,
兼懷子由。
Mid-autumn of the Bing Chen year
Having been drinking happily over night
I'm drunk
So I write this poem
Remembering my brother, Zi You.
明月幾時有?
把酒問青天。
不知天上宮闕,
今夕是何年?
When will the moon be clear and bright?
With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the clear sky.
In the heavens on this night,
I wonder what season it would be?
我欲乘風歸去,
[b]唯恐瓊樓玉宇,
高處不勝寒。
起舞弄清影,
何似在人間![/b]
I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.
[b]Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions
are much too high and cold for me.
Dancing with my moonlit shadow,
It does not seem like the human world.[/b]
轉朱閣,
低綺戶,
照無眠。
不應有恨,
何事長向別時圓?
The moon rounds the red mansion,
Stoops to silk-pad doors,
Shines upon the sleepless,
Bearing no grudge,
Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?
人有悲歡離合,
月有陰晴圓缺,
此事古難全。
但願人長久,
千里共嬋娟。
People experience sorrow, joy, separation and reunion,
The moon may be dim or bright, round or crescent shaped,
This imperfection has been going on since the beginning of time.
May we all be blessed with longevity,
Though thousands of miles apart, we are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.[/spoiler]
Bungie most likely used the quote in question to refer to Hive temples or more specifically Crota's temple.
Do you have any thoughts on this card or are there any other cards you find particularly interesting?
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I don't have too many thoughts, however I just wanted to say thank you for translating this!
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I have no comments about these concepts. I actually was reading my grimore cards and found it, and I wanted to know what it said. I google search brought me here, so now you finally have a comment on this thing :) Good old Google.
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Though, looking upon it again. It totally seems to be semi-ironic. "We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together." In the previous grimoire card it quotes "We once looked to the Moon and saw hope. Now we see only the power of the Darkness." I'm not sure, a little drunk.