From 500 CE to 1500 CE, the influence that northern nomads and other foreigners had on China was greater than the influence that China had on Korea. The influx of manufactured, luxury, and agricultural goods within China attracted the northern nomads. Although the Chinese viewed the nomads as primitive barbarians due to their ethnocentric beliefs, China depended on the nomads for imperative resources, such as horses and access to the Silk Road, and formed a tribute system in which foreigners had to acknowledge Chinese superiority in order to trade. Establishing diplomatic and trading relationships allowed the nomads to infiltrate Chinese society through assimilation; learning Chinese and even marrying into Chinese families. Eventually, the nomads were able to gain substantial control over the Chinese as they became political equals. For example, assimilation into Chinese culture allowed for an easy nomadic incursion after dynasties collapsed; hence why the founders of the Sui and Tang dynasties had a mixed nomad and Chinese ancestry.
