Aw Boon-Haw (; 1882 in Rangoon,
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
– 1954 in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
),
OBE, was a Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as founder of
Tiger Balm. He was a son of
Hakka
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
herbalist Aw Chu-Kin, with his
ancestral home in
Yongding County, Fujian Province, China.
Career
Aw was born to Chinese herbalists at Rangoon Road on 1882 under the
British colonial government. In 1926, due to problems with the
British Colonial government at the time, Aw migrated to
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
and expanded their business overseas to South East Asia, where he cofounded the business with his brother. Aw used cartoon commercialisation to promote their Balm product 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 a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
. Aw also founded several newspapers, including ''
Sin Chew Jit Poh'' and ''
Sin Pin Jit Poh''; and ''
Sing Tao Daily
The ''Sing Tao Daily'' () (also known as ''Sing Tao Jih Pao'') is Hong Kong's oldest and second-largest Chinese language newspaper. It is owned by Sing Tao News Corporation, of which Kwok Ying-shing () is chairman. Its English language sister p ...
''.
Aw fled to Hong Kong during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
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 Singapore after the end of WWII 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 (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, 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
His sons took over his businesses after Aw's death.
Personal life
Aw had an adopted daughter,
Sally Aw, a Hong Kong businesswoman and former politician.
The daughter of Aw Boon-Haw and his fourth wife, Aw Seng (胡星), resides in Singapore and has set up a company under her father's name, Aw Boon Haw Pte Ltd, to continue the heritage and legacy of her father. Aw Boon-Haw's fourth wife died on 10 April 2012 in Vancouver 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, Former Eng Aun Tong 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