It may be called “hǔbiao wànjīnyóu” in its native tongue, but it’s just Tiger Balm to me. I’ve been using this since my hippie mom rubbed it on my chest during the cold New England winters of my youth. The burn on my skin still has a calming, comforting effect on me.
Invented by Chinese herbalist Aw Chu Kin in the 1870s using the healing combination of menthol, eucalyptus, clove, cassia and mint oil. Kin’s two sons – Aw Boon Haw, a hell-raiser known for street fights and mad business skills, and Aw Boon Par, the gentler of the duo – made their father’s tincture a global phenomenon in the early 1930s, mostly just by being good guys.
Aw Boon Haw in China 1949
While Par honed the recipe down into what is now a legendary cure-all- Haw used his persuasive skills to organize a medicinal empire. A born salesman, Haw knew how to market – he gave the family recipe a strong and sexy name – Tiger Balm – and began promoting it across China, even going so far as to build a customized “Tiger” car, featuring an enormous roaring Tiger head on the hood.
Aw Boon Haw in Singapore 1941
By the time he was 40, Haw was the richest man in Rangoon. He built an enormous mansion and named the extensive botanical gardens after his quiet-natured brother. Yet despite his showmanship, Haw was also great philanthropist, donating his family’s magic ointment to doctors all over China and building countless schools and hospitals with the family riches.
Tiger Balm Building in Singapore 1941
Aw Boon Haw Showing His Medicines in China 1949
Haw opened his gardens to the public and promoted good heath for all. 80 years later, savvy business sense matched with a generous, caring spirit, has made Tiger Balm a worldwide classic.
Aw Boon Haw Gardens in Singapore 1941
School Children Walking Through Aw Boon Haw Gardens 1941
The LIFE Magazine images found at Google Books.
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[...] Building. It had housed a Eng Aun Tong Medical Hall, as is evidenced by a 1941 photograph seen at http://kaufmann-mercantile.com/tiger-balm/. The photograph also shows that an additional floor had been added on at some point in time. The [...]