LABUBU火爆出圈的现象评析——中国文创IP的“破圈之道”

An Analysis of LABUBU’s Viral Breakthrough—The “Path to Transcending Boundaries” for China’s Cultural and Creative IPs

摘要: 在全球文化格局加速演变的当下，多元文明的交流与碰撞以更频繁的势态展开。近年来，随着《哪吒》《浪浪山小妖怪》和《黑神话：悟空》等兼具中国文化内核与国际审美表达的优质IP走向世界，中国文创的文化影响力在全球市场逐步释放影响力，为更多领域的IP“出海”创造了有利环境。本文以泡泡玛特旗下IP Labubu的全球成功为研究案例——该IP为华人艺术家龙家升原创，是由中国公司主导运营并实现全球化的文创IP，属于“中国IP”的典型实践形态。基于传播学情感传播理论及文化研究的跨文化适配理论，本文系统阐释“情感先于文化”“价值共创”的核心内涵：前者指以情感共鸣作为跨文化传播的优先触点，突破文化符号的认知壁垒，契合詹姆斯·凯瑞“传播的仪式观”中情感联结的核心要义；后者则强调IP运营中激活用户主体性，形成“品牌–用户”的协同创造机制，是对普拉哈拉德“价值共创”理论在文创领域的具象化延伸。在此基础上，本文深入剖析Labubu如何通过普世人设构建、UGC社群共创与全球化本地化运营，成功打破文化壁垒，其创新实践为传统文创IP提供了一种从“文化输出”到“价值共创”的转型可能。研究发现，Labubu所构建的“IP–社群–场景”传播生态与多层次价值体系，并非单纯的模式创新，而是通过情感传播理论的实践转化，为中国文化IP的出海提供了可操作的实践范式，这一研究既是对文创产业跨文化传播现有理论的补充与细化，也为中国文化在全球语境中实现深度融入与价值共享提供了具有探讨性的方向。

Abstract: Against the backdrop of the accelerating evolution of the global cultural landscape, the exchange and interaction between diverse civilizations are unfolding with increasing frequency. In recent years, as high-quality IPs that integrate Chinese cultural essence with international aesthetic expressions—such as Nezha, The Little Monsters of Langlang Mountain, and Black Myth: Wukong—have gained global reach, the cultural influence of China’s Cultural and Creative (CC) industry has gradually expanded in the global market, creating a favorable environment for IPs in more fields to “go global”. This paper takes the global success of Labubu, an IP under Pop Mart, as a research case. Originated by Chinese artist Kasing Lung, Labubu is a cultural and creative IP operated by a Chinese company and has achieved global presence, representing a typical practical form of “Chinese IP”. Based on the emotional communication theory in communication studies and the cross-cultural adaptation theory in cultural studies, this paper systematically elaborates on the core connotations of “emotion preceding culture” and “value co-creation”: the former refers to taking emotional resonance as the priority touchpoint for cross-cultural communication to break through the cognitive barriers of cultural symbols, which aligns with the core essence of emotional connection in James Carey’s “ritual view of communication”; the latter emphasizes activating the subjectivity of users in IP operation to form a “brand-user” collaborative creation mechanism, which is a concrete extension of C.K. Prahalad’s “value co-creation” theory in the cultural and creative field. On this basis, the paper deeply analyzes how Labubu successfully breaks down cultural barriers through the construction of universal character settings, UGC community co-creation, and global-localized operation. Its innovative practices provide a potential path for traditional cultural and creative IPs to transform from “cultural presentation” to “value co-creation”. The study finds that the “IP-community-scenario” communication ecosystem and multi-level value system constructed by Labubu are not merely a model innovation, but rather a practical transformation of emotional communication theory. This provides an operable practical paradigm for Chinese cultural IPs to “go global”. Moreover, this research not only supplements and refines the existing theories on cross-cultural communication in the cultural and creative industry but also offers an exploratory direction for Chinese culture to achieve in-depth integration and value sharing in the global context.