In most of history cultural exchange happened not by enlightened people seeking out other cultures, but through conquest. In the case of China, by the Mongols,

In most of history cultural exchange happened not by enlightened people seeking out other cultures, but through conquest. In the case of China, by the Mongols, for example. Or in the very language we are communicating in - which is a weird mixture of Germanic and French thanks to William the Conqueror.