Emperor Han Gaozu Built Xinfeng 汉高祖建新丰

The first emperor of Han dynasty Liu Bang was born in the city of Feng in the district of Pei. Liu is said to be the first commoner to found a Chinese dynasty and it was not surprised it took some getting used to adjust to the new found status and life style when he and his father moved to the capital Chang-an.

The following record comes from the ‘Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital’ written by Liu Xin (46 BC – AD 23).

The father of Emperor Gaozu (256 BC or 247 BC – 195 BC) of the Han Dynasty moved to the capital Chang-an from his hometown Feng and lived in the palace. He was quite unhappy after a while. The Emperor asked those close to his father in private what might be the reasons. They told him that when his father was in Feng, he got along with young butchers and hawkers who sold liquor, peddled cakes, held cockfights and played soccer ball games. Now that all this was over, he felt depressed. The Emperor gave an order to construct a new district, called Xinfeng (new Feng), in Chang-an, and had old folks in Feng move to this district. His father cheered up at last. That was the reason why ever since a great number of vagrants lived in the Xinfeng district, but not scholars the well-to-do.

When the Emperor was young, he often made sacrifices at a temple for mother earth in Feng. So he had an identical temple built in the new district as well. When Xinfeng and the temple completed, the streets and buildings were all the same as those of the old Feng. As the folks from Feng strolled in the streets, they would have no difficulty in recognising their old houses. Driving the livestock along the lanes, they could find their own homes without hesitation as well. All the folks who moved here were pleased with the resemblance and praised the architect Hu Kuan. They rewarded him a lot for it, and in a month or so, he received a hundred units of gold.

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汉朝开国皇帝刘邦出生于丰县（江苏省）的沛地区`（今`江苏沛县）。他是中国第一个（也是唯一的）平民出身皇帝。搬到首都长安，对于新的地位与生活，需要重新调整，那时不足为奇的。

劉歆(46 BC – 23) 《西京杂记》由以下的记载：

太上皇徙长安，居深宫，凄怆不乐。高祖窃因左右问其故，以平生所好，皆屠贩少年，酤酒卖饼，斗鸡蹴踘，以此为欢，今皆无此，故以不乐。高祖乃作新丰，移诸故人实之，太上皇乃悦。

故新丰多无赖，无衣冠子弟故也。高祖少时，常祭枌榆之社。及移新丰，亦还立焉。高帝既作新丰，并移旧社，衢巷栋宇，物色惟旧。士女老幼，相携路首，各知其室。放犬羊鸡鸭于通涂，亦竞识其家。其匠人胡宽所营也。移者皆悦其似而德之，故竞加赏赠，月余，致累百金。