Xianbei belt buckle from the 3rd-4th century CE. The Xianbei were a nomadic group that lived to the
Xianbei belt buckle from the 3rd-4th century CE. The Xianbei were a nomadic group that lived to the north and west of China proper. They reached their apex during late antiquity, after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The Xianbei were a key conduit of culture and trade between the disunited Chinese kingdoms and the rest of the world, bringing central Asian culture (including Buddhism) into China. The XIanbei slowly integrated themselves more and more into China, eventually ruling parts of northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty and changing parts of their culture to be more Chinese. -- source link