Mao Collection, Upper Volume Radical: Heart (xīn) Character: Xian Kangxi Stroke Count: 8 Page 378, Entry 30 Pronounced xian. To desire something in one's mind. According to the Book of Dialects (Fangyan) by Yang Xiong, in the regions of Qing and Qi, people call what one likes xian. In the Miscellaneous Poems by Lin Bu, it is written: I have no desire to spread out the scrolls or wield the brush. Note: Zhang Xin, in his corrections to the Sea of Characters (Pianhai), states the pronunciation is xian. The Dictionary of Characters (Zihui) follows this. The old edition of the Sea of Characters suggests the pronunciation is han, meaning to exhale air.