Vietnam is a country with a long history of internal conflict and struggle, leading to the literal division of the state into its historically separated territories of North and South. Most well known to people is likely the North and South divide during the Vietnam War, in which the U.S. and Southern forces failed to stop the spread of Northern Communism, but there have been other conflicts, such as the Trinh vs Nguyen dynasty conflict that created another real border in Vietnam, as well as the traditional separation of Northern Vietnam and the Southern Champa kingdom.
Something that has helped to unify the Vietnamese people, though, is conflict against a foreign power that is imposing its will on the state. Well known Vietnamese figures tend to be those that lead the Vietnamese against larger, foreign forces in the name of Vietnamese sovereignty, which is something that has been repeated throughout Vietnam's history.
I didn't know about the Trung sisters until I began researching Vietnamese history, and let me tell you, they're pretty incredible (a depiction of them is attached to this post). The daughter of a former Vietnamese local Lac lord, they are said to have challenged and defeated Chinese forces in 40 A.D., driving the Chinese out of their lands and reclaiming it for themselves. Two women led this revolution, at the turn of the millennium! I've never heard of another story like it. Other local Vietnamese rose to the occasion and joined their movement, unifying the unsatisfied Vietnamese people. While their movement was brutally ended just two years later, this is the prime example of how Vietnam's freedom inspired unity through revolution.
Ngo Quyen's defeat of Chinese forces at the Battle of Bach Dang River and the defeat of the Mongol forces at the same location are another example of how Vietnamese resistance to outside forces contributed to national identity. Not all Vietnamese conflict is between rival families looking to grab power!
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