Guiying 桂影 refers to the shadow of the osmanthus tree said to be grown on the moon in ancient Chinese mythology.
In ancient China, the moon had different alias:
- According to different shape of the moon, yugong 玉弓 [jade Bow]，yugou 玉鈎 [jade hook], and yupan 玉盤 [jade plate] are alias for the moon.
- Related to the toad. In mythology, there is a three-legged toad in the moon palace, so chanjing 蟾鏡 [toad mirror], chanpan 蟾盤 [toad plate] refer to the moon.
- Related to rabbits. In mythology, it is said that the Yin essence in the moon accumulates to form a rabbit shape, hence gutu 顧菟 [the rabbit] is also considered as an alias for the moon.
- Related to the osmanthus tree. In mythology, there is an osmanthus tree on the moon, so that guiyue 桂月 [osmanthus palace moon], guigong 桂宮 [osmanthus palace] refer to the moon.
Image of two common associations of the shadows on the moon. The left one is Wu Gang cutting a osmanthus tree. The right one is a crab.
