達摩到中國來傳禪，到五祖弘忍的時候，有慧能神秀二位弟子，慧能在江南布化，叫做南宗，神秀在北方布化，叫做北宗。

陳義孝編, 竺摩法師鑑定, 《佛學常見辭彙》

The Southern sect, or Bodhidharma School, divided into northern and southern, the northern under 神秀 Shen-hsiu, the southern under 慧能 Hui-nang, circa A.D. 700, hence 南能北秀; the southern came to be considered the orthodox Intuitional school. The phrase 南頓北漸 or 'Southern immediate, northern gradual' refers to the method of enlightenment which separated the two schools. 

A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms, William Edward Soothill and Lewis Hodous