in998-King-protea-in-the-ashes-rebirth-under-the-South-African-flag

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In the morning light of South Africa’s Freedom Day (April 27), the six-color national flag spreads in the wind, unfolding the struggle history of the rainbow nation into an eternal poem. At this moment, staring at the ashtray based on the King Protea flower, the ashes and the new life quietly resonate in the folds of time. The interwoven Y-shaped ribbons on the national flag are the trajectory of reconciliation between different ethnic groups, just like the shape of the King Protea flower in the ashtray – the flaming petals bloom from the ashes. This country, which was once burned by colonization and apartheid, is just like the metaphor of the ashtray: suffering will eventually settle into nutrients. When the new South Africa was born in 1994, people buried the remains of the old system in the soil and watered the democratic King Protea flower with tolerance. Those crushed cigarette butts, just like the pain of the past, turned into fertile soil for new life in the filtration of time. The King Protea flower still stands tall in the dry season in South Africa, just like the ashtray that carries the burning heat but breeds hope. When we shake off the embers of the past, we will find that under the gray is a red vitality. Today, every South African is a spark, and under the witness of the national flag, we forge differences into a totem of symbiosis. Let the dust of history settle into nutrients, and let the roots of the king protea penetrate the rock layers of separation – this is the most tenacious background for reconciliation.

In die oggendlig van Suid-Afrika se Vryheidsdag (27 April) wapper die seskleurige nasionale vlag in die wind en ontvou die strydgeskiedenis van die reënboognasie in ‘n ewige gedig. Op hierdie oomblik, terwyl mens na die asbak staar wat na die Protea gemodelleer is, resoneer as en nuwe lewe stil in die voue van tyd. Die ineengeweefde Y-vormige linte op die nasionale vlag verteenwoordig die trajek van versoening tussen verskillende etniese groepe, net soos die vorm van die protea in die asbak – vlammende blomblare wat uit die as blom. Hierdie land, eens verbrand deur kolonisasie en apartheid, is net soos die metafoor van die asbak: lyding sal uiteindelik in voedingstowwe vestig. Toe die nuwe Suid-Afrika in 1994 gebore is, het mense die oorblyfsels van die ou stelsel in die grond begrawe en verdraagsaamheid gebruik om die protea van demokrasie nat te maak. Daardie vergruisde sigaretstompies, net soos die kraampyne van die verlede, verander deur die filter van tyd in vrugbare grond vir nuwe lewe. Die koningprotea staan steeds hoog gedurende die droë seisoen in Suid-Afrika, net soos ‘n asbak wat hitte dra, maar hoop kweek. Wanneer ons die as van die verlede afstof, sal ons vind dat daar rooi vitaliteit onder die grys opborrel. Vandag is elke Suid-Afrikaner ‘n vonk wat verskille in ‘n totem van simbiose smee onder die getuienis van die nasionale vlag. Laat die stof van die geskiedenis in voedingstowwe neerdaal, en laat die wortels van die koningprotea die rotslae van isolasie binnedring – dit is die mees taai fondament vir versoening.

在南非自由日（4月27日）的晨曦中，六色国旗随风舒展，将彩虹民族的奋斗史铺展成永恒的诗篇。此刻，凝视着那枚以帝王花为原型的烟灰缸，灰烬与新生在时光褶皱中悄然共鸣。

国旗上交织的Y型色带，是不同族群走向和解的轨迹，正如烟灰缸中帝王花的形态——烈焰般的花瓣从灰烬中绽放。这个曾被殖民与种族隔离灼烧的国度，正如烟灰缸的隐喻：苦难终将沉淀为养分。1994年新南非诞生时，人们将旧制度的残骸埋进土壤，用宽容浇灌出民主的帝王花。那些被碾碎的烟蒂，恰似过往的阵痛，在时光的过滤中化作新生的沃土。

帝王花在南非旱季依然挺立，正如烟灰缸承载灼热却孕育希望。当我们掸落往事的余烬，会发现灰白之下涌动着赤红的生命力。今天，每个南非人都是一粒星火，在国旗的见证下，将分歧锻造成共生的图腾。让历史的烟尘沉淀为养分，让帝王花的根系穿透隔阂的岩层——这才是和解最坚韧的底色。