Why the “From Han to La” Meme Went Viral: Cognitive Friction Meets Emotional Load

Rating system definition

The "from 夯 to 拉" meme assigns five ordered labels to any evaluated object:

1 夯 – extreme top, "极致顶尖"

2 顶级 – very excellent

3 人上人 – above average

4 NPC – ordinary, "泯然众人"

5 拉完了 – complete failure

Propagation model

Popularity of a rating scheme is modeled as the product of two independent dimensions: Propagation Power = Comprehension × Emotion Both dimensions must be high; a low value in either prevents viral spread.

Comprehension (understanding cost)

Comprehension is quantified as the inverse of the "understanding cost" and is measured by a self‑explanatory coefficient σ:

σ = P(label is correctly interpreted without any contextual explanation)

For traditional numeric T‑systems (e.g., T0/T1/T2/T3) σ is low because the rank direction is ambiguous; users must infer whether T0 is highest or lowest. In contrast, each label in the "from 夯 to 拉" system conveys its rank intrinsically (e.g., "拉完了" literally means "completely failed"). Subjective estimates in the article give an average σ that is several times larger than that of the T‑system, dramatically reducing cognitive friction.

Emotion load

Emotion is expressed as a weighted sum of three components:

Extreme – average emotional intensity of the highest (夯) and lowest (拉完了) labels.

Middle – intensity of the middle three labels, typically weaker.

Weight – a factor that amplifies the contribution of the extreme component, reflecting research that extreme evaluations spread more efficiently.

Because "夯" and "拉完了" are vivid, emotionally charged slang, their extreme intensity is an order of magnitude higher than the neutral numeric labels of the T‑system. This yields a substantially larger Emotion score for the meme.

Estimated propagation advantage

Multiplying the higher Comprehension and Emotion scores gives a propagation power roughly ten times that of the traditional T‑system under the article’s subjective parameter settings. The exact multiplier would change with different assumptions, but the direction of the advantage remains robust.

Additional factors that reinforce diffusion

Meme reuse : the labels "夯", "NPC" and "拉完了" were already high‑frequency slang before the meme, providing immediate audience familiarity and eliminating cold‑start costs.

Open template : the "from X to Y" skeleton is domain‑agnostic and can be applied to gaming units, food dishes, AI model performance, drama scenes, etc., greatly expanding potential use cases.

Psychological drivers behind user adoption

Three recurring needs explain why young users favor the system:

Control – a concise rank reduces information overload, allowing quick judgment.

Belonging – using the meme signals membership in a shared cultural group.

Playfulness – framing everyday evaluation as a game‑like ranking aligns with the "level‑up" mindset prevalent among younger audiences.

These needs, combined with high self‑explanatory power, strong emotional density, meme reuse, and an open format, create a synergistic effect that makes the "from 夯 to 拉" rating system exceptionally viral.