People Dealing In Cordyceps Sinensis On Plateau

This paper is an ethnographic study on the excavation and trading of cordyceps sinensis in Qinghai.Cordyceps sinensis,referred to as the "soft-gold",is high in its market value.However,the high price does not affect its supply-demand relationship in the market,many people take cordyceps sinensis as a good medicine for health care and curing diseases,thus competing to buy it.Therefore,cordyceps sinensis has been favored by consumers of all ages.In Qinghai,the major time to excavate cordyceps sinensis is from mid-to-late April to late June every year,when thousands of people flock to the alpine region with an altitude of more than 4,000 meters to collect,process,buy,and trade cordyceps sinensis,etc.These people constitute the main group dealing in this medicinal material in Tibetan areas.As a result,more and more people turn their eyes to this group of people for fully understanding their lifestyles and the process of their transition from the original places to the urban markets.The author,taking the group of people dealing in cordyceps sinensis as his research object,by using anthropological methods,conducts an interpretation of this group of people in behavior sense,and makes in-depth analysis of their living conditions,social organization structures and trading patterns of the cordyceps sinensis.In this study,the main field investigation time will primarily be the harvest season of cordyceps sinensis(April 2016-July 2016),the main investigation sites include the fields in Qinghai Province: Maqin County,Gande County,and Dari County of Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,Zaduo County of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,Qilian County of Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,Xinghai County of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,Hualong Hui Autonomous County of Haidong District,Huzhu Tu Autonomous County,Tongren County and Henan County of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,and the field in Gansu Province includes Xiahe County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.Working in the field,the author carried out a series of investigations and arrangements of the life experiences,digging process,and trading conditions of people dealing in cordyceps sinensis,and told a story about cordyceps sinensis coming from the mountains to urban markets from the anthropological point of view.