“When one indulges ones bodily desire for food and drink, it is difficult to avoid unexpected illnesses.”

This advertisement from 1929 tells the story of a Shanghai performer by the name of Tang Ziqiu. Ms. Tang was apparently very popular, so much so that a movie company in Saigon, Khai Đông Films, invited her to visit. Ms. Tang was apparently “infatuated” with the local customs and products from areas to the south of China, so she agreed and, together with her younger sister, boarded a ship operated by the French Compagnie des Messageries Nationales.

In the days prior to departing, Ms. Tang had attended various banquets. Unbeknownst to her, amidst all of this feasting the seeds of illness had been planted. As it turns out, something from all from all of the oily foods she had eaten had started to congeal in her stomach. Nonetheless, by the time she arrived in Saigon after a voyage of more then ten days, she still felt fine.

It was then that she heard about the peculiar taste of durian. She decided to give it a try, and with that, “the fuse was lit.” She became constipated and feverish. For three days she lay in bed. Although both Western and Chinese doctors offered cures, they had absolutely no effect.

Distraught, someone from Khai Đông Films then gave her some Tiger Brand Happy Water. Within two hours her fever started to abate. At the three hour mark, the lovely Ms. Tang then proceeded to the toilet where all of that rich food which she had indulged in “greatly flowed” out of her body. Having defecated her illness away, Ms. Tang then regained her senses, and by the next day she was able to get out of bed.

She then performed for her fans in Saigon, and took that occasion to inform them about the efficacy of Tiger Brand Happy Water by saying, “It is a hygienic product which first-time travelers to the Southern Ocean [i.e., Southeast Asia] cannot do without.” Indeed.