吳牛喘月

Literally "water buffalo from Wu (East China) pants at the moon", as if the moon were a hot sun.

From 《世說新語·言語》／《世说新语·言语》:

臣猶吳牛，見月而喘。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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臣犹吴牛，见月而喘。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Liu Yiqing (editor), A New Account of the Tales of the World, 5^th century CE

Chén yóu Wú niú, jiàn yuè ér chuǎn. [Pinyin]

The minister is a like a water buffalo from Wu seeing the moon and breathing heavily.

Also, this idiom is believed to be taken from a lost volume of a much earlier work 《風俗通義》／《风俗通义》 (cited by 《太平御覽》):

吳牛望月則喘；使之苦於日，見月怖，喘矣！ [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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吴牛望月则喘；使之苦于日，见月怖，喘矣！ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

Wú niú wàng yuè zé chuǎn; shǐ zhī kǔyú rì, jiàn yuè bù, chuǎn yǐ! [Pinyin]

A buffalo from Wu pants at the moon. It has been worked harshly under the sun, and it becomes frightened when seeing the moon, thereby pants.

吳牛喘月

1. excessive fear
2. hot weather