The aggrandizement of their own lineage apart, fortified mansions with watchtowers bear witness to Huaqiao’s concern to protect life and property during times of civil disorder in the two decades following the collapse of the Qing dynasty. Secret-society supporters of Sun Yat-sen’s revolutionary movement against the Qing dynasty, warlords, Kuomintang factions, disbanded soldiers, defeated remnants of Communist forces, brigands, pirates – each group added its quotient to the lawlessness. Overseas money paid not only for the castles but for guns and the policing of the home community.