But although the tiger, which is a genuine part of Chinese people's lives, has been elevated on the spiritual plane to an object of folk veneration and belief, unlike the dragon the tiger is also killed for its bones as medicine, and its other organs are indiscriminately taken to be eaten as tonics. This has given many people of other nations a mistaken impression of Chinese medicinal culture.
不過，和龍不一樣的是，真實存在中國人生活中的老虎，在精神上雖提昇為民間的信仰對象，民間卻也殺虎取骨治病，更肆無忌憚的利用虎爺身上器官進補，還因此讓外人對中醫藥文化產生許多誤解。