Aw Boon-Haw (; 1882–1954), OBE, was a Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as founder of

Tiger Balm Tiger Balm () is an analgesic heat rub manufactured and distributed by Singaporean company Haw Par Corporation, Haw Par Healthcare. It is used for external pain relief. History A precursor to Tiger Balm called Ban Kin Yu ( zh, t=萬金油, ...

. He was a son of

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

herbalist Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...

Aw Chu-Kin, with his

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

Yongding County Yongding () is a district under the jurisdiction of Longyan prefecture-level city in the southwest of Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. The district is a center for Hakka culture, including the traditional Hakka '' tulou'', and a local ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

, China.

Career

Aw was a Burmese born to Chinese herbalist father in Rangoon (now known as

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

), Burma on 1882 under the British colonial government. In 1918, Aw perfected the product and it was renamed "Tiger Balm" in order to gain broader appeal. By 1918, the Aw family had become one of the wealthiest families in Rangoon. Tiger Balm sold well in Burma, and was exported to China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. In 1926, due to problems with the British Colonial government at the time, Aw migrated to

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and expanded their business overseas to South East Asia, where he cofounded the business with his brother. Aw used cartoon commercialisation to promote his Tiger Balm product, named after himself, to any potential customer as well as at any public celebration. In the 1920s, his main factory, Eng Aun Tong, was set up at 89 Neil Road, Chinatown,

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. Aw also founded several newspapers, including '' Sin Chew Jit Poh'', '' Sin Pin Jit Poh'', and ''

Sing Tao Daily The ''Sing Tao Daily'' (also known as ''Sing Tao Jih Pao''; ) is among Hong Kong's oldest Chinese language newspapers. It is owned by Sing Tao News Corporation, of which Kwok Ying-shing () is chairman. Its English-language sister is the free ...

''. Aw fled to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and managed the business from there, while his brother stayed in Singapore until he closed down the factory and went to Rangoon. Aw returned to

after the end of

and re-established his business. He set up Chung Khiaw Bank and once owned Pulau Serangoon (present day Coney Island), Singapore.

Death

In 1954, at the age of 72, Aw died from a heart attack following a major operation in Honolulu while on a trip to Hong Kong from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, US. He is remembered through his work with Haw Par Villas throughout Asia, with locations in Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Fujian province of China.

Legacy

In 1932, Aw and his brother Aw Boon Par founded St. John Hospital (Hong Kong) on Cheung Chau island. As of 2023 the original building, a historical landmark, continued to serve the approximate 12,000 residents of the island. His sons took over his businesses after Aw's death.

Personal life

Aw had an adopted daughter, Sally Aw, a businesswoman and former politician. Born in Rangoon as the daughter of Aw Boon Haw and his fourth wife, Aw Seng (胡星), Sally has resided in Hong Kong and Singapore and set up a company under her father's name, Aw Boon Haw Pte Ltd, to continue the heritage and legacy of her father. Aw Seng died on 10 April 2012 in Vancouver, Canada, aged 100.

Gallery

File:HK Lei Yue Mun Village Hoi Bun School 胡文虎 Memory of Mr Aw Boon Haw.JPG, A memorial hall in Lei Yue Mun Waterfront School File:Tiger Balm School.JPG, Aw Boon-Haw & Aw Boon-Par Memorial Hall at the School for the Blind, a Tiger Balm charity in Rangoon, Burma File:FujianHawParVilla.jpg, Haw Par Villa in Fujian, unfinished after 1949 and the death of Aw Boon Haw in 1954; finished by his daughter in 1990s File:89 Neil Road, Singapore - 20121013.jpg, The former Eng Aun Tong Building in Singapore File:廣州永安堂.jpg, Eng Aun Tong in Guangzhou File:Eng Aun Tong advertisement 1930s.jpg, Eng Aun Tong advertisement in 1930s

References

胡文虎

* Sin Yee Theng and Nicolai Volland, "Aw Boon Haw, the Tiger from Nanyang: Social Entrepreneurship, Transregional Journalism, and Public Culture," chapter 5 in Christopher Rea and Nicolai Volland, eds. "The Business of Culture: Cultural Entrepreneurs in China and Southeast Asia" (UBC Press, 2015). * Cochran, Sherman. ''Chinese Medicine Men: Consumer Culture in China and Southeast Asia''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2006. * King, Sam (1992), ''Tiger Balm king : the life and times of Aw Boon Haw''. Singapore : Times Books International, 1992. {{DEFAULTSORT:Aw, Boon Haw 1882 births 1954 deaths Burmese people of Chinese descent People from Yongding District, Longyan Singaporean people of Hakka descent Hong Kong people of Hakka descent 20th-century Singaporean businesspeople Burmese emigrants to Singapore Aw family Officers of the Order of the British Empire Hong Kong newspaper people Singaporean billionaires Pharmaceutical company founders