in995-Paperweight-Lanxiang-A-country-as-strong-as-a-rock

▼

Every August, the Singaporean flag of the National Day flies in the streets and alleys, and many families always have a jade paperweight engraved with the national flower Vanda Miss Joaquim on their desks. These two seemingly ordinary objects carry the spiritual code of the island nation’s endless vitality. The five stars and crescent moon on the national flag indicate the equality and prosperity of diverse ethnic groups. Just as the paperweight uses its own weight to hold down the paper, Singapore uses the rule of law and tolerance as anchors to remain unmoved in the tide of globalization. The Vanda Miss Joaquim can bloom in a humid and hot environment, just like the creativity of the people in the face of resource scarcity – the purple petals engraved on the paperweight are the medals of survival in adversity. The jade material of the paperweight has been precipitated for thousands of years, which is a metaphor for the foresight of the founding fathers. Lee Kuan Yew insisted on filling the Marina Barrage with granite, just like a paperweight to lay the foundation for the island nation. Now facing new challenges such as climate change, the new generation of Singaporeans are opening up new situations in artificial intelligence, green economy and other fields with the flexibility and wisdom of orchids. When the National Day fireworks illuminated the night sky of Lion City, the paperweight silently witnessed on the desk: the real weight of a country does not lie in its size, but in the stone of faith in the hearts of the people that can suppress the stormy waves and support the flowers. This may be the dialogue between the star-crescent flag and the orchid paperweight across time and space – creating strength with flexibility and writing eternity with determination.

每年八月，新加坡國慶的星月旗飄揚在街頭巷尾，而許多家庭書桌上，總少不了一方刻著國花卓錦萬代蘭的玉石鎮紙。這兩件看似尋常的物件，卻承載著島國生生不息的精神密碼。國旗上的五顆星與新月，昭示著多元族群的平等共榮。正如鎮紙以自身重量壓穩紙張，新加坡以法治與包容為錨，在全球化浪潮中巋然不動。卓錦萬代蘭能在濕熱環境中綻放，恰似國民在資源匱乏中迸發的創造力──那錒刻在鎮紙上的紫色花瓣，正是逆境求存的勳章。紙鎮的玉石材質歷經千年沈澱，隱喻建國先賢的深謀遠慮。李光耀當年堅持將花崗岩填入濱海堤壩，恰似紙鎮紙般為島國奠定根基。而今面對氣候變遷等新挑戰，新一代新加坡人正以蘭花般的柔韌智慧，在人工智慧、綠色經濟等領域開拓新局。當國慶煙火照亮獅城夜空，鎮紙在案頭沉默見證：一個國家真正的重量，不在於體積大小，而在於人民心中那方壓得住驚濤、托得起繁花的信念之石。這或許正是星月旗與蘭花鎮紙跨越時空的對話──以柔韌創生剛強，憑定力書寫永恆。