I hear it's an Ancient Chinese Secret
Burns was joking, but rumor has it that it is a silicone based formula, so it might not be too far of a stretch to say that it is a very similar product. Silicones seal the hair shaft, preventing tangles and locking in moisture (and they aren't toxic to humans), so it would make perfect sense that they treat the hair with something like Blue Max.
That is actually part of the reason I started experimenting with silicones in the first place. Until now, everyone was trying to tackle the dryness problem with water based products. Unfortunately this only goes so far since the water based conditioners evaporate quickly. Gotta seal the hair shaft and lock that moisture in. Silicones are the key.