胶
=
交
+
月
:
The moon (月) fell down from the heavens and lies shattered in front of the aorta (ao1). Joan of Arc (ji) and Linus Pauling (交) join forces to fix it with a lot of glue (胶).
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.