ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the competing actions of human and non-human players, and investigating the relationship between bioeconomic forces and the commodity itself within the caterpillar fungus market assemblage. It describes how the marketization of a natural medicinal foodstuff is enacted in a bioeconomic setting embedded in the Chinese political agenda. The chapter considers alignment of biopharmaceutical enterprises as relatively new actors and related bioeconomic knowledge within the distinct setting of the Chinese caterpillar fungus market. The relatively new rush for soft gold has resulted in a growing complexity in terms of market participants, marketing strategies, and practices. The chapter consults an array of Chinese secondary literature and films available on the internet. Chinese quotes have been translated into English by the author, and key Chinese terms have been inserted into the text using the pinyin transcription. The chapter discusses the interactions between society, politics, technology, economy and nature through the specific lens of marketization in the Chinese bioeconomic setting.
