「七賢」之名源自謝安或其家族之稱述，為袁宏所記，孫盛《魏氏春秋》、《晉陽秋》遂以稱之。魏晉名士重視友誼的崇高價值，例如：《世說新語〃簡傲》載曰：「嵇康與呂安善，每一相思，千里命駕」嵇康為呂安作證洗冤，導致兩人皆被謀害而死。竹林七賢由於個性、才情、人生品味以及時代患難等頗多類似處，相互間各有情誼的感通。雖然七賢無論「友誼」的專文遺世，然而本人擬以史料為據，梳理出七人相互間的交往情誼。不但如此，文中企求將七賢之間所以能忘年忘利害，彼此間「神交意契」、相互「發其高致」的玄思所凝結成的隱含之友誼觀予以烘托出來，證成七賢之所以惺惺相惜，義結金蘭，在於玄理與情意之深契妙合，文中分成（一）阮籍與阮咸、劉伶；（二）嵇、阮；（三）嵇、阮與山濤；（四）嵇康與向秀四群組，文末結論則總結出七賢具普遍原理性的友誼觀。

The title of seven sages was invented by Xie An or his
family, recorded by Yuan Hong, and published in Sun Sheng’s Wei’s Records of the Spring and Autumn and Autumn of Jinyang. The worthies of the Wei-Jin Period treasured the noble value of friendship; for instance, as recorded in New Account of Tales of the World (Shishou Xinyu), Ji Kang testified to Lu An’s innocence, which caused the murder of them both. Due to the similarities in their personalities, talents, styles and their distresses brought by the times, a sense of camaraderie was developed among the seven sages. Though there are no surviving monographs on friendships by them, here the writer intends to clarify their friendship based on historical documents. Furthermore, this article is also meant to highlight the seven sages’ implicit views on friendships, as their friendship and spiritual compatibility regardless of age, gains
and looses are the results of their metaphysical thought. We try to attribute their brotherly love to their like-mindedness in metaphysics and feelings. Here they are analyzed in four groups: first, Ruan Ji, Ruan Xian and Liu Ling; second, Ji Kang and Ruan Ji; third, Ji Kang, Ruan Ji and Shan Tao; and forth, Ji Kang and Xiang Xiu. Finally, we will conclude with the seven sages’ general views on friendship.