印尼记遊（廿四）
Travelogue in Indonesia

廿一日，晨八时，携行李，雇汽⻋，离开了万隆，向椰加大进发，一路也出入於山中林壑，经过无数小镇，至十一时，方结束这一百余英里的路程，抵达椰城。

我们暂於李曼峰先生的府上驻足，下午二时，径赴新加坡驻印尼商业文化代表，阿武巴加先生茶会，在这里遇⻅到了不少的新加坡名流，大家高谈澜论，兴趣颇浓，四时返至李府，曼峰先生已为我们定妥住处，於是大家又匆匆地把行李搬过去，沖了涼，已是六点半了。

晚上，应印华美术协会的欢宴。七时，宾主⻬聚一堂，为况殊盛，首由李曼峰先生致欢迎词，意谓:

「新加坡与印尼仅一水之隔，但彼此稀艺术上之交流，除十年前，刘抗等四人來此之后，此次算是最大规模的一回了。我们希望这十人，能带给新加坡画人一个良好的友谊，將使將來有更多的画人，到这里來旅行作画，让我们有更多的机会，能与新邦艺人认识，彼此切磋······」词意恳切，诚为一位不可多得的艺术界领导者！我是一向不高兴谈话的，然而处此场面之下，实不能不说几旬话以表谢谊！

这是一餐极其丰富的宴会，全部二百余人，有年达七十余岁的老年人，亦有二十余岁年轻小伙伴，大家都是热心於艺术的工作者。印尼华人美术协会，能有这么多的会员，有这么高的情绪，在新加坡实是罕⻅的！

席散后，大家集中在美协会所，以彼此作品互相观摩，壁上所⻅的仅为佳作，我们真可谓是拋砖引玉，能藉此良好的机缘，欣赏该会会员的精心杰作。的确这并非客套的奉承，说一句良心话，这些作品都有相当成熟，手法写实，⻛格朴素，但却并不呆扳地拘泥於过份的造作，大方而豪放，诚恳地表达出作者的心声。因为作品多，作者也不少，我既在疲倦之余，又不愿失此良机，与远道的朋友倾谈，藉以更解瞭两地画人的动向，所以无無法一一作详细的批评，以上这些只是概括地介绍而已。真是酒逢知己千杯少，大家在彼此的作品行列中，穿來插去，指东划⻄地丛谈不已。我们既在友谊上得到了无上的收获，在技法上也得益不少。直至十一时半，大家才合摄了一帧全体照片，以资留念，十二时返至寓所就寝。

我们这次到印尼來作画，真是苦了李先生。他忙着为我们安排行程，又怕我们言语不通，派了黃君为我们服务。至泗水之后，叉多派一位温君为我们作每一个地方的详细介绍。每至一站，也都派人招待，起居行程沒有一件不预为佈置，因此我们既不必浪费时间找居处，同时处处叨朋友的便宜，也节省了不少的旅费。并且地方熟，多看了不少有价值的名胜古迹，也多懂了不少有关印尼的民间典故，⻛俗民情。我们在这短短的三星期旅遊中，真胜过读三年书，收获之丰，享受之愉快，得未曾有！这一切的方便，都是李先生所赐，牺牲了他不少的宝贵时间来给予我们热情的指导！更蒙李太太招待了我们一顿丰富的晚餐，那富於印尼⻛味的餐食，至今，我们犹觉齿颊留香呢!这浓厚的情谊，我们真不知道要如何才能表达谢意於万一。 (二十四)

On the 21st day, at 8 in the morning, we packed our luggage, hired a car, and left Bandung, heading towards Jakarta (椰加大). Along the way, we traversed through mountainous terrain and passed numerous small towns. It took until 11 in the morning to cover the over 100 miles journey, arriving in Jakarta.

We briefly stayed at the residence of Mr. Lee Man Fong (李曼峰), and at 2 in the afternoon, we proceeded to attend a tea reception hosted by Mr. Abu Bakar, the Singaporean commercial and cultural representative in Indonesia. Here, we met many prominent figures from Singapore, engaged in lively conversations, and enjoyed the gathering. We returned to Mr. Lee's residence at 4 o'clock. Manfeng had already arranged accommodation for us. So, we hurriedly moved our luggage, freshened up, and by then, it was already 6:30 in the evening.

In the evening, we attended a banquet hosted by the Indonesian-Chinese Art Association. At 7 o'clock, guests and hosts gathered together, and it was indeed a grand occasion. Mr. Lee man Fong delivered a welcoming speech, expressing:

"Singapore and Indonesia are separated only by a narrow body of water, but the exchange in arts has been rare. Apart from the visit by Liu Kang and others ten years ago, this is the largest-scale gathering we have had. We hope that these ten artists can bring a strong sense of friendship to the artists in Singapore, and in the future, more artists will come here to travel and create art. This will provide us with more opportunities to get to know the artists from Singapore and engage in mutual exchange..."

His words were sincere, and he is undoubtedly an irreplaceable leader in the world of art. I am not one to engage in conversation, but in this setting, I had to express my gratitude with a few words!

This was an extremely sumptuous banquet, attended by over 200 people. There were elderly people in their 70s and young fellows in their 20s, all passionate workers in the field of art. The fact that the Indonesian-Chinese Art Association has so many members and such high enthusiasm in Singapore is truly remarkable!

After the banquet, everyone gathered at the Art Association to view each other's artworks. The works displayed on the walls were all excellent, and it truly felt like a case of "casting pearls before swine." It was a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the carefully crafted masterpieces of the association's members. To be honest, this is not flattery; these works are indeed quite mature, with realistic techniques and a simple style that avoids excessive artificiality. They are open-hearted and expressive, sincerely conveying the feelings of the authors. Due to the large number of works and authors, and my fatigue, I couldn't provide detailed critiques for all of them. The descriptions above are just a summary.

It's really true that "a thousand cups of wine are never enough when friends get together." Amidst the rows of each other's works, we engaged in lively discussions, exchanging ideas about our art. We not only reaped great rewards in terms of friendship but also learned a lot about techniques. It wasn't until 11:30 in the evening that we finally took a group photo for commemoration, and at midnight, we returned to our accommodations to rest.

Our trip to Indonesia this time was made much easier thanks to Mr. Lee (李先生). He was busy arranging our itinerary and was concerned that we might have difficulty with the language, so he assigned Mr. Huang (黃君) to assist us. After arriving in Surabaya, Mr. Cha (温君) was assigned to provide detailed explanations of each location. Every stop was well-prepared; we didn't need to waste time finding accommodations, and we enjoyed the hospitality of friends everywhere, saving a lot of travel expenses. Additionally, we got to see many valuable historical sites and learn about Indonesian folklore, customs, and traditions. In this short three-week trip, we gained more than three years of knowledge and experiences. All these conveniences were provided by Mr. Li, who sacrificed a lot of his precious time to give us enthusiastic guidance. We were also treated to a rich Indonesian-style dinner by Mrs. Lee (李太太). The flavors of that meal still linger in our mouths! We truly don't know how to express our gratitude for all of this.