231. 北元魏

Pei3 s yuan2 wei4 

North yuan wei 

The northern dynasties are the Wei dynasty of the  Yüan famiy

Pei see line 61. 

Yuan see line 94. Here a surname. 

Wei see line 223. [The Northern Wei dynasty was founded in A.D. 386 by a Tartar of the 拓跋 Toba family, which name was changed by a later Emperor to 元 Yuan. Eitel wrongly translates "The northern (Toba, subsequently called) Yuen, family established the Wei dynasty." The construction however is peculiar, there being a pause at pei, the influence of which extends down to line 234.] 

232.分東西

Fen1 tung1 hsi1

Divide east west 

which split into Eastern and  Western Wei, 

Pen is composed of 八 pa divide (line 88), its old radical, and 刀 tao a knife, its modern radical. Read fen4 it means share, portion. 

Tung see line 62. 

Hsi see line 62. [In A.D. 534 the Northern Wei came to an end, and from its ruins arose the short-lived Eastern and Western branches which were displaced by the Ch'i and Chou (see lines 233, 234) dynasties, respectively.] 

233. 宇文周

Yü3 wen2 chou1

Yü wen chou

the Chou dynasty of the Yü-wen family, 

Yü is composed of 冖 mien an obsolete word meaning cover as radical, with 于 yü (= 於 line 35) as phonetic. It means space, the empyrean, but is here part of the surname of the founder of the Northern Chou dynasty, A.D. 557—589. 

Wen see line 44. 

Chou see line 141. 

234. 與高齊

Yü3 kao1 ch'i2

With kao ch'i 

I with the Ch'i dynasty of the  Kao family. 

Yü see line 87. [Eitel, to get out of his previous difficulty, here translates yu by "whilst," a sense which can never under any circumstances be yielded by this character.] 

Kao is supposed to be the picture of a raised terrace, and its common meaning is high, elevated; but here it is the surname of the founder of the Northern Ch'i dynasty, A.D. 550—589. 

Ch'i see line 227.