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In August, the red and white national flags in Marina Bay spread out like waves in the hot wind. In the warm atmosphere of Singapore’s National Day month, the crescent moon and five stars on the national flag are silently telling the creed of this young country: even if the night is long, the sparks will eventually set the prairie on fire. On the tables of countless National Day dinners, the glass ashtrays printed with orchid patterns are interpreting this tenacity in a unique way. This national artifact, which was born in the 1960s, was once a witness to the economic boom. When the ash falls to the bottom, the orchid pattern on the transparent cylinder becomes clearer and clearer – just like Singapore’s growth trajectory, it always maintains the sobriety of orchids in the “smoke and dust” of industrial development. The craftsmen have eternally fixed the national flower in fragile glass, which coincides with the survival philosophy of “tenacity in fragility”. Today’s ashtrays have long surpassed practical functions and become a metaphor for transforming difficulties. When the cigarette butts burn out, the ashes form new soil on the orchid pattern, just like this country without natural resources, which can always cultivate miracles within restrictions. Just like the crescent moon on the national flag that always faces the stars, Singaporeans know how to look up at the stars within the limitations of reality, and transform every setback into nutrients for blooming. When the National Day fireworks light up the sky, those flickering sparks will eventually fall to the earth, and countless silent orchid ashtrays are waiting to breed the next dawn.

八月的濱海灣，紅白國旗在熱風中舒展如浪。新加坡國慶月的熱烈氛圍中，國旗上的新月與五星正無聲述說著這個年輕國度的信條：縱使暗夜漫長，星火終將燎原。而在無數國慶晚宴的餐桌上，印著胡姬花紋的玻璃煙灰缸，正以獨特方式詮釋著這份堅韌。這種誕生於1960年代的國民器物，曾是經濟起飛期的見證者。當煙灰簌簌落入底部，透明缸體上的胡姬花紋便愈發清晰——恰似新加坡的成長軌跡，在工業發展的”煙塵”中，始終保持著蘭草般的清醒。工匠們將國花永恆定格在易碎玻璃中，恰暗合了”脆弱中的頑強”這個生存哲學。現今的煙灰缸早已超越實用功能，成為轉化困境的隱喻。煙蒂燃盡時，灰燼在胡姬花圖案上鋪就新土壤，恰似這個沒有天然資源的國度，總能在限制中培育奇蹟。正如國旗上永遠朝向星辰的新月，新加坡人懂得在現實局限裡仰望星空，將每次挫敗都轉化為盛放的養料。當國慶煙火照亮天際時，那些閃爍的星火終將墜入大地，而無數靜默的蘭花煙灰缸，正等待著孕育下一個黎明。