According to the records in Guoyu and Zuozhuan, the writers of Chu Ci before the Song and Yuan Dynasties regarded Shan Gui as a "monster of wood and stone" and a "ghost", but regarded him as a male mountain monster. However, painters in Yuan and Ming Dynasties painted a graceful and touching goddess according to the descriptions in their poems. Gu Chengtian's Notes on Nine Songs in Qing Dynasty first advocated Shan Gui as the "Goddess of Wushan", which was later elaborated by You Guoen and Guo Moruo. The view that "Shan Gui" should be regarded as "female ghost" or "goddess" is widely accepted. The description and depiction of Shan Gui, Goddess and Witch (only with different names) mainly focus on their beautiful, frank and infatuated girl images.
The image of a tiger or a leopard in the picture means: she is a mountain god and a ghost, so she must travel around the mountains. How can she be ridden without a mount? She rules the mountains and naturally shows her strength with the king of beasts in the mountains. In the same picture, beauty with beasts also has the aesthetic significance of contrast that painters need!