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Wee Kek Koon

You must have seen Labubu dolls – those furry, razor-toothed monsters that come in an array of colours and hang from every third person’s bag – though perhaps you do so less frequently now than in 2024.
I suppose they are cute, a momentary distraction from the fraught world we live in, but for many, these charming critters serve another, humourless purpose: they are investments.
Rare or limited-edition Labubus have commanded prices 10 to 20 times their original retail value.
Their manufacturer, Pop Mart, uses a “blind box” mechanism and limited releases to create artificial scarcity and excitement, which in turn drives up demand and prices.

Because of their investment potential, many Labubus are not played with in the way dolls usually are. Instead, they are interred in transparent display cases, hermetically sealed from contaminants that may undermine their resale value. I have even seen individual Labubus hanging from handbags in clear, purpose-made boxes, like bodies entombed in plastic caskets.
Like so many speculative bubbles – from the tulip mania of the 1630s to the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of a few years ago – the value of Labubus has declined with fading demand and waning popularity. Hence, you see them less frequently now.
Centuries before Labubus, the Chinese had the Mohele doll. Its name derives from the Mahoraga, a race of guardian beings in Buddhism often depicted as anthropomorphic figures with reptilian bodies from the waist down.
But the Mohele was something less intimidating and much cuter: a figurine of a bright, round-faced child, often clutching a lotus leaf. The dolls were eagerly bought, displayed and played with during the Qixi Festival, which falls on the seventh day of the seventh month in the Chinese lunisolar calendar.

Mohele dolls were probably derived from the huasheng tradition, where wax baby figures were floated on water as charms for those wishing to bear sons. The desire for fertility gave the figurines a natural foothold during Qixi, a festival celebrating romance.
By the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127), the modest Mohele doll had become one of the most sought-after commodities.
Contemporary writings emphasise the sheer popularity of Moheles. They were sold everywhere – outside the gates of the ancient capital Kaifeng, in entertainment quarters and in major markets. Commoner families, elite households and even denizens of the imperial palace were described as fans.
Children adored them. Records describe boys in Kaifeng imitating the doll’s distinctive stance by holding up fresh lotus leaves in Qixi processions, a kind of mass cosplay.
Like Labubus, the prices of Moheles reflected the craze. Simple clay versions were already considered not cheap, while those carved from ivory or fragrant wood, dressed in embroidered silks, shaded in red gauze canopies, and accessorised with gold and jade could cost thousands of coins each. As a reference, 100 coins could buy around 6kg (13lb) of rice in the late Northern Song.

Renowned artisans joined the fray in producing “designer” Moheles that retailed for exorbitant prices, in the same manner as the present-day “collaborations” between Labubu and luxury brands such as Moynat.
What begins as a charming object of delight, be it a doll, a tulip or a work of art, can become freighted with outsize value and expectation under the right commercial pressures and cultural conditions.
Once the feverish speculation subsides, these objects often find their way back to the hands that were meant to hold and enjoy them.
In the case of Labubus, perhaps these furry monsters will one day escape their plastic tombs and become dolls again – manhandled by the grubby fingers of infants, teens and grown-ups – to resume their intended role as playthings rather than financial instruments.


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Mohele dolls featured expensive ‘special editions’, saw designer collaborations and even inspired cosplay, much like Labubus today


Mohele dolls featured expensive ‘special editions’, saw designer collaborations and even inspired cosplay, much like Labubus today.


Labubu

Pop Mart

Chinese history

History

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

Reflections

Ancient China’s Labubu-like doll craze also saw fans splurge silly money on the toys

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Mohele dolls featured expensive ‘special editions’, saw designer collaborations and even inspired cosplay, much like Labubus today

Mohele dolls featured expensive ‘special editions’, saw designer collaborations and even inspired cosplay, much like Labubus today