Pinyin "xia1"
In MandarinBanana's mnemonic system, the Pinyin syllable "xia1" is split up into two parts: "xi" and "a1". You can visit the Pinyin index to see how other Pinyin syllables are split up into initials and finals.
Mnemonics for Pinyin initial "xi"
Xi is for Marie Curie.
Alternative mnemonic for xi: Xi Shi (西施), one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China.
Mnemonics for Pinyin final "a1"
In front of the ashram.
Characters pronounced xia1
blind / groundlessly / foolishly / to no purpose
瞎
=
害
+
目
:
Calamity Jane (害) surprises the Eye of Providence (目) for no specific reason (瞎) in front of the ashram (a1) by blinding (瞎) it from behind with her hands. The Eye of Providence takes a wild guess (瞎) and exclaims that it must be Marie Curie (xi) blinding him, which makes Calamity Jane very jealous.
shrimp / prawn
虾
=
虫
+
下
:
In order to be admitted to the ashram Xi Shi (xi) has to complete a trial in front of it (a1). She has to survive a sea of shrimp (虾) only with the help of a ladder (下) on which she can save herself from the shrimp army. To not make it too easy for her though there's also an army of mosquitoes (虫) harassing her.