Wu - Wu (English spelling)

Japanese: 塢 - う（英語表記）wù

The original meaning of the word in Chinese is a small bank, but it often refers to military forts and evacuation facilities built by civilians. The "walls" placed on the borders during the Han dynasty are an example of the former. As for the latter, after the time of Wang Mang, it became common for 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, appointed wall lords (often powerful nobles), and lived a disciplined, self-sufficient communal life. These types of walled villages represent a new form of settlement after the collapse of the Han Empire, and are sometimes called "village walled villages."

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

中国語の原義は小さい土手の意であるが，軍事上の防砦（ぼうさい）や民間人によって築かれた避難設備を指す場合が多い。漢代辺境に置かれた〈塢候〉は前者の例。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。

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

<<: Uakari - Uakari (English spelling)

>>: Woo