How to use the ljg-classic skill for annotated Classical Chinese

What an agent skill is and what ljg-classic does

An agent skill is a folder of instructions, reference files and optional scripts that an AI agent loads when a task matches it. When you ask for something the skill covers, the agent follows its workflow instead of improvising.

ljg-classic covers one task: producing an annotated classical Chinese study sheet. For each non-punctuation token in the text it adds a note on meaning or grammar, marks textual variants, and writes a chapter interpretation in plain Chinese. The notes use three colours: teal for words and grammar, vermilion for what a clause is doing, and ochre for variant readings and uncertain points.

• Word notes (teal) explain meaning in context, particles, grammar and pronunciation where it changes understanding.
• Clause notes (vermilion) explain who does what to whom and the local cause and effect.
• Variant notes (ochre) flag loan characters, alternative readings and edition differences instead of silently replacing the original text.
• The chapter interpretation is set in a separate section after the annotated text.

Install the ljg-classic skill

Download the ljg-classic ZIP from the download link on this page, then unzip it. The skill folder must end up inside a skills directory that the agent reads.

For Claude Code, put the unzipped folder in ~/.claude/skills/ to make it available everywhere, or in .claude/skills/ inside a project to make it available only in that project.

In the Claude apps, open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the skill there. Restart or start a new conversation if the skill does not appear straight away.

• Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/ (available in all projects).
• Project install: .claude/skills/ inside the project folder (available only there).
• Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the ZIP.

Check what the skill needs before you run it

The skill runs scripts, so it needs a working local environment. The rendering and validation tools are TypeScript files, which need the Bun runtime. Turning the HTML into a PNG needs Playwright with a Chromium browser.

The optional top illustration uses the built-in image generation tool, called image_gen. If that tool is not available, the skill continues and produces the sheet without the picture, and it says so.

The skill does not use the network, according to its own metadata. The scripts work on local files and write to a temporary workspace.

• Bun runtime, for the TypeScript scripts.
• Playwright with a Chromium browser, for rendering HTML to PNG.
• image_gen (built-in), optional, for the chapter illustration.
• Network access: not used by the skill.

Trigger the skill with a natural request

You can call the skill directly with /ljg-classic followed by your request, or describe the task in ordinary language. The skill is meant for requests that ask for annotated classical text, colour glosses, chapter interpretation, or a classical text handout image.

Give the book and chapter if you can. The skill needs to know which text it is working on. If you paste the passage yourself, say which edition or source it comes from, so variant readings can be marked properly. The skill notes that it relies on the agent's knowledge of the text, so it is not a verified scholarly edition.

• Ask for a whole chapter: 「/ljg-classic 《道德经》第十六章，逐字注解并讲透」
• Supply your own text: 「把这段《论语·学而》做成文言文夹注图，最后写完整解读」
• Ask for a handout image: 「给这章古文做一张带彩色夹注的讲义图」

Read the output and find the file

The finished deliverable is a single PNG, about 1080 pixels wide and as tall as its content needs. It shows the book name and chapter at the top, an optional illustration, the original text with its notes, and the chapter interpretation at the end.

The skill builds the image in a private temporary workspace under /tmp, checks it there, and only then copies the final file to your Downloads folder. It does not overwrite a file with the same name unless you explicitly ask it to.

• Final image location: $HOME/Downloads/.
• Working files (JSON, HTML, manifest, illustration, QA slices) stay in /tmp.
• If you name a different final path, the skill follows your instruction.

Tips for better results

Clear input gives better annotation. A named book, a named chapter and a stated edition let the skill lock the text before it starts. For a long chapter, expect a taller image rather than smaller type; the skill keeps the text readable by making the page taller.

Use the skill for a passage or chapter, not for a single sentence. A one-sentence question such as 「这句古文是什么意思？」 should get a short direct translation, not the full workflow.

• Name the book, chapter and edition in your request.
• Expect the interpretation to explain one central relation, not a sentence-by-sentence translation.
• Check the notes against a trusted edition if you need scholarly accuracy.
• Use ljg-explain (named in the skill) when you want a deeper explanation of a concept in the chapter.