Crystal Boys
| Author | Pai Hsien-yung |
|---|---|
| Original title | 孽子 |
| Language | Chinese |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | Yuan Jing |
Publication date | 1983 |
| Publication place | Taiwan |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 397 p. |
| OCLC | 818956496 |
Crystal Boys (孽子, pinyin: Nièzǐ, "sons of sin") is a novel written by author Pai Hsien-yung and first published in 1983 in Taiwan. In 1988, this novel went into circulation in China; its French and English translations were published in 1985 and 1989, respectively. A translation into German ("Treffpunkt Lotussee") appeared in 1995.
Nièzǐ means literally "sinful sons" or "sons of sin", but it may also be an allusion to a passage in Mencius in which "friendless officials and concubine's sons" (孤臣孽子) reach positions of power because they have learned to live with a dangerous status.
A movie called Outcasts, based on this novel, was released in 1986. In 2003, the material was adapted by Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation into a miniseries.
There is a reference to You Xian Ku in the chapter "Journey to the Goblin Cave".