The Chinese character 意 (yì) is composed of two radicals: 音 (yīn) on the left and 心 (xīn) on the right. The radical 音 (yīn) means sound or speech. It can also indicate meaning related to music, language, or communication. The radical 心 (xīn) means heart or mind. It can also indicate meaning related to emotions, thoughts, or consciousness. In combination, these two radicals in the character 意 (yì) create the meaning of idea or thought.
The Intellect — Yì — is located in the Spleen and is responsible for applied thinking, studying, memorising, focusing, changing state, and generating ideas. The Spleen is involved in nourishment issues, both physically and psychically. The relationship between the Spleen's intelligence and the Heart's Mind is very close. Yi oversees translating opinions, thoughts, obsessions, and knowledge into words.
The postnatal qi and Blood are the physiological bases for intelligence. Thus, if Spleen is strong, thinking will be apparent, memory will be good, and the capacity for concentrating, studying and generating ideas will also be good. If the Spleen is weak, the Intellect will be dull, thinking will be slow, memory will be poor, and the capacity for studying, concentrating and focusing will all be weak.
