Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Chinese Essay Writing Engine agent skill (ljg-writes)
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The ljg-writes skill, listed on this directory as the Chinese Essay Writing Engine, gives an AI agent a specific method for writing a Chinese essay around one core claim. This guide explains what the skill does, how to install it, how to trigger it with ordinary requests, and what it needs to run. You do not need prior experience with agent skills to follow it.
Chinese Essay Writing Enginelijigang/ljg-skills · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the package. Download the ZIP for ljg-writes from this page. It contains SKILL.md and Workflows/WriteEssay.md.
- 2Unzip into the skills folder. Unzip the package into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into .claude/skills/ in a project folder for one project.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the skill.
- 4Make a request in Chinese. Describe your claim or paste your text and use a trigger phrase such as 写文章 or 优化思想内容.
- 5Check the saved file. If you asked for a file, find the Markdown note in ~/Documents/notes and read the header and body.
What the skill makes the agent do
The skill turns one idea into a Chinese essay of roughly 1000-1500 characters by default. The essay is built around a single core claim. The agent explains the key concepts in plain Chinese, uses a concrete case to show how the mechanisms work, states the conditions under which the idea holds, and then tests the claim on another scenario and a counterexample.
It also rewrites and polishes existing Chinese text. The instructions tell the agent to keep the original meaning, facts and tone, and to avoid strengthening conclusions the author did not make. If you only ask for a short revision, a slogan or a title, the skill tells the agent to deliver that length instead of a full essay.
- Writes a new Chinese essay from one idea or claim
- Polishes or rewrites existing Chinese philosophical or thought pieces while keeping their meaning
- Saves the finished essay as a Markdown file with a Denote-style filename and header, then reads it back to check it
Install the ljg-writes skill
You can install the skill in two ways. Both use the skill's files from the lijigang/ljg-skills repository, under skills/ljg-writes. The listing on this page links to the download. The package contains SKILL.md and Workflows/WriteEssay.md.
For Claude Code, download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into your user skills folder, ~/.claude/skills/, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder if you want the skill for one project only. For the Claude apps, open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the skill there.
- Option A (personal use): unzip the package into ~/.claude/skills/
- Option B (one project): unzip the package into .claude/skills/ inside the project folder
- Option C (Claude apps): Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the skill
Trigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need a special command. Ask for what you want in Chinese, and the agent uses the skill when the request matches its trigger words: 写文章, 优化思想内容, 展开观点, or 改写成逻辑递进的中文. The skill is not meant for plain summaries or factual lookups, so ask for those directly without these trigger phrases.
Give the agent your idea or your draft. The more specific the claim, the better the essay. If you want the file saved, say so in the request, because the skill's instructions include saving the final essay to a notes folder.
- 「为什么越聪明的人越容易困在自己的解释里？写一篇。」
- 「预测是一种选择压，它逼出对结构的理解。帮我完整优化。」
- 「把这段观点改写成逻辑递进的中文，保留原意。」
What the output looks like and where it is saved
When the agent finishes a draft, it checks the claim and evidence, then revises the Chinese for flow. Only the final version is saved. The skill's instructions name the file path pattern as ~/Documents/notes/{timestamp}==z--{title keywords}__write.md. The file header includes title, date, tags set to write, an identifier that matches the timestamp, and an author field. After saving, the agent reads the file back to confirm that the Denote format is accepted, then reports the path.
The skill's instructions take two time values from the shell using these commands:
date +%Y%m%dT%H%M%S
date "+%Y-%m-%d %a %H:%M"What the skill needs and safety notes
The skill needs shell access so the agent can run the date commands above and write files to ~/Documents/notes. The skill does not run scripts, and it does not use the network, according to the review of its files. The review covered only SKILL.md and Workflows/WriteEssay.md.
Be aware that the skill tells the agent to write first-person experiences only from material you provide. It forbids inventing personal stories, but it still relies on your material, so check any personal detail before publishing. Hypothetical cases are meant to be marked as hypothetical.
- Shell access is required for the date commands and for writing files
- No scripts are run and no network access is used, per the review
- Review drafts for accuracy, especially personal details and factual claims
Tips for better essays
Start with one clear claim in one sentence. The skill works best when the claim is arguable. If you only give a topic, the agent extracts a candidate claim, and it may ask you to choose when candidates would lead to very different essays.
If you have existing text, tell the agent whether you want a light polish or a full rewrite. The skill is designed to keep your meaning, so state any limits you care about, such as keeping certain terms or length.
- Give one arguable claim, not only a topic
- Say whether you want a short edit, a slogan, a title or a full essay
- Ask for the file to be saved if you want it in your notes folder
What people use it for
- Turning a rough Chinese idea about a social or personal pattern into a structured 1000-1500 character essay
- Polishing an existing Chinese philosophical or thought piece without changing its core meaning
- Developing a claim by testing it against a counterexample and stating where it stops applying
- Saving finished drafts as Denote-style Markdown notes in ~/Documents/notes
Frequently asked questions
Is the ljg-writes skill free to use?
The skill is listed under the MIT licence. That licence governs use and redistribution of the code, so check the licence text in the repository before you redistribute it.
What do I need to run ljg-writes?
You need an agent environment that can load skills and give the agent shell access, so it can run the date commands and write files to ~/Documents/notes. The skill does not run scripts and does not use the network, according to the review.
Does ljg-writes work in English?
No. The skill's instructions are designed around Chinese prose, so it is meant for Chinese writing and Chinese text polishing.
What is the difference between ljg-writes and ljg-structure?
ljg-writes writes or rewrites an essay around one claim. The skill says structural analysis is handled by ljg-structure, and plain summaries or factual lookups should go to other tools.
Where does the skill save my essay?
The instructions name ~/Documents/notes as the folder and a filename pattern that includes a timestamp and title keywords. The agent saves only the final version and reads it back before reporting the path.
Why won't the agent use the skill when I ask for a summary?
The skill is not for plain summaries or factual lookups. Use a request that matches its trigger phrases, such as 写文章 or 优化思想内容, if you want an essay or a rewrite.
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Our verdict
Choose ljg-writes if you write or polish Chinese essays and want an agent to follow a consistent method, including saving a Denote-style note. Pick something else if you need English writing, summaries, factual lookups or structural analysis, since the skill points those tasks to other tools.
Download the skill