he Chinese Empire, they were able to ignore Chinese attempts at domination because China was often distracted during times of internal strife or war ( p.12).
             The conquered Vietnamese suffered under their often-brutal Chinese overlords. Through Vietnam grew rich, experiencing technological and economic progress under Chinese rule, the bulk of its population remained poor. The peasants were forced to contribute labor, taxes, and recruits for the army. The old Vietnamese feudal lords also resented the Chinese, who had abused their positions of power and authority (p.12).
             The Vietnamese launched numerous revisions against Chinese rule over the years, but the uprisings had little tangible effect. Primarily the revolts were upper-class affairs in which the large masses of common people played but a small part. The revolts failed for that reason. Eventually, however, even the most aristocratic revolutionaries realized that the peasants were a valuable source of nationalistic spirit and came to view them as allies. The modern revolutionaries in Vietnam did not forget this lesson. As the upper class Vietnamese wooed the peasants and appealed to their common interests, successful revolution became a possibility. The passive resistance of the peasants over the years probably did more to throw off Chinese rule than all the upper class armed rebellions ( p.13).
             Seizing the opportunity of a China weakened by internal strife; the Vietnamese drove the Chinese armies out of their country in 939 AD. Over the next 900 years Vietnam maintained its independence through the tactic of alternately paying tributes to China and repelling successfully a series of attempted invasions. Included were two attempts by Kublai Khan in 1284 and 1287. During this period the Vietnamese expanded further southward into the Indochina Peninsula, colonizing the lower Mekong Delta ( p. 13).
             Independence was interrupted by on brief per...