surname Qin / Qin dynasty (221-207 BC) of the first emperor 秦始皇[Qin2 Shi3 huang2] / abbr. for 陝西|陕西[Shan3 xi1]
秦
=
𡗗
+
禾
:
The Queen of Hearts (qi) gave a poisoned bowl of cereals (禾) to the first emperor Qin (秦). In the encampment's kitchen ((e)n2) she is waiting with her hands folded (𡗗) to become the first female emperor soon.
prefecture / (old) province / (old) administrative division / state (e.g. of US) / oblast (Russia) / canton (Switzerland)
州
=
丶
+
丷
+
川
:
Mnemonic symbol: the red cotton tree, as it is the official flower of 广州 (Guangzhou). A new river (川) formed spontaneously in front of the outhouse (ou1), and James II of England (zh) was barely able to climb on a red cotton tree (州). Other animals are happy about this development: a mean crocodile (丷) is floating on a petal leaf (丶) towards the red cotton tree.