The Empty Pot
Henry Holt and Co. · 1990 · paperback, hardcover
Ages 4-8 DaoistEastern wisdom
A traditional Chinese folktale, retold and illustrated by Demi in luminous gold and pastel. An aging emperor announces he will choose his successor by giving each child in the kingdom a single seed and asking them to bring back what they have grown in a year. Ping plants his and waters it faithfully, but nothing comes up. The story turns on what he does next.
Editor's review
Demi has illustrated more than 130 books, and she is at her best when she is painting in the Chinese imperial style — fine line work, generous use of gold leaf, faces that are almost masks. The Empty Pot is her highest achievement in this register, and the moral economy of the story she chose to tell is worth thinking about.
The narrative is simple enough to summarize in a sentence: a wise but childless emperor wants to find a successor, and tells the children of the empire that whoever can bring him the most beautiful flower grown from the seed he gives them will inherit the throne. Ping, the child who most loves growing things, plants his seed and tends it faithfully. The seed does not sprout. On the appointed day, every other child comes to court bearing a spectacular flower. Ping comes with an empty pot.
The twist — which I will not spoil here because there’s no point — turns on the difference between appearance and trustworthiness, and it is the quietest defense of honesty I know of in children’s literature. There is no voiceover. Ping is not praised by the narrator for his courage. The emperor simply sees what is in front of him, and acts.
The Chinese roots of the story are interesting. It is sometimes catalogued as a Daoist parable, sometimes as a Confucian one — both traditions take it seriously. The Daoist reading: trying to appear virtuous corrupts virtue; the empty pot is the natural state, and the natural state is what is asked for. The Confucian reading: the ruler chooses the heir who can be trusted to tell the truth even when truth is humiliating, because that is the only foundation for good government. Both readings are right.
Demi’s illustrations make the story almost ceremonial. The children’s flowers spread across the court in pages of saturated color; Ping’s empty pot stands alone on the marble floor in a way that feels both small and unanswerable.
A perfect first Chinese folktale for young children. Pair it with a quiet conversation about why telling the truth is harder than it sounds.
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