Please explain the meaning of the preface of the following classical Chinese. Thank you.

The preface says: You don't talk about strange forces and chaotic gods, which is a maxim for thousands of years. Later, those who play with brush and inkstone are not as simple as others. They compete for vanity. If they don't know something, it will be a lifelong shame. Therefore, some people wrote "Qi Xie Ji" and "Bai Ze Tu," some people wrote "Luanli,""Demon Chaos" and other records, and some people compiled "Search God,""You Ming" and other records. Only Li Ye stood alone. Not long ago, in the old paper bundle of the market goods, I got some ancient miscellaneous theories. In the middle of the book, I talked about the play of the corner, and there were many vulgar things. When I was idle, I added some old stories to enrich it and made it into this record. Someone said,"What the sage does not say, why do you need to say?" Foolish, on the other hand, replied,"When the great way is scattered, those who are virtuous will stand; when virtue is scattered, benevolence and righteousness will be thin; when benevolence and righteousness are born, loyalty and filial piety will arise. When Confucius did it, there was something he did not know. It was probably a lack of knowledge. Why bother to elaborate? The virtue of the sage has been established, and the descendants of Confucius have different branches and leaves, which is the third of the seven schools of Confucianism and Mohism. Therefore, the records of strange things are close to strange things, the order is scattered, the chaos is close to chaos, the records of the underworld are close to gods, and the records of horns are close to strength. Are these four kinds of people not sent by Confucius to the miscellaneous family?" Someone said,"Are you not of the refined kind when you say this?" And he answered,"Is it a god who has a strange mind? When it comes to strength, is it strength? In the past, Emperor Jianwen of Liang wrote the Horse Lance Manual, but he did not hear that Xiao Gang was a cavalry general. What I have written today is not beyond the level of ordinary officials. It is more orderly than later."

Answer 1

The preface of classical Chinese was usually used to introduce the background, author, and purpose of the article or book so that the reader could better understand the content of the article or book. Here was a possible explanation:

The classical Chinese was a written language in ancient China that originated from the Warring States Period and had a history of thousands of years. Because of its unique language form and standardized vocabulary, it has an important position in the fields of ancient Chinese literature, history, philosophy and so on. With the development of China's economy and culture, classical Chinese was gradually introduced into modern literature and academic research.

In this preface, the author hopes to let the readers better understand the meaning and value of this work by introducing the background and characteristics of classical Chinese. He could also show the readers the scope of application of classical Chinese so that readers could better understand the culture and ideas mentioned in the book.