This article was first published on July 21, 2011. Ming dynasty comes to an end by Will Clem in Shanghai Yao Ming, one of China’s first truly international sports stars, yesterday (July 20, 2011) formally announced his long-awaited retirement from competitive basketball, but insisted the move was “a comma, not a full stop”. “Today I need to make a personal decision as a basketball player,” the NBA star and three-time Olympian told a packed press conference in his hometown of Shanghai that was...