"Most scholars believe that nationalism and the nation state originated in the modernizing West, only permeating "non-Western" societies in the past two centuries in response to Western intrusion. This paper argues that the Vietnamese developed a clear sense of national identity, even perhaps of nationhood, early in their history. The long-term struggle for survival of the Vietnamese nation against tremendous odds (including conquest by foreigners and chronic internal discord) can best be explained by attributing to them a long entrenched proto-nationalism or national consciousness that later blossomed in their 20th century assertion of independence and resistance."