Lord of the fort - Ushiyu

…As for the latter, after the time of Wang Mang, it became common for the people to build "walls" to defend themselves during times of war. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty and during the Yongjia Rebellion, mountain fortresses were built using natural cliffs, and hundreds or even thousands of families gathered together, elected a fortress lord (often a powerful nobleman), and lived a disciplined, self-sufficient communal life. Such fortresses represent a new form of settlement after the collapse of the Han Empire, and are sometimes called "village fortresses." …

*Some of the terminology explanations that refer to "fortress lord" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…後者については，王莽（おうもう）時代以後戦乱時に民衆が〈塢壁〉を築いて自衛することが普及した。後漢末や永嘉の乱では天険を利用した山城が作られ，数百家，数千家が集結し塢主(多く豪族層)を推戴して規律ある自給的共同生活を営んだ。このような塢は漢帝国崩壊後の新しい集落形態を示し，〈村塢〉と呼ぶことがある。…

※「塢主」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報