When it comes to China, too often, we tend to be more interested in China's population decline, economic inflation, and the political agenda. None of those things is making China more attractive to the world, period. Meanwhile, China history continues to fascinate more international scholars, for example, Timothy Brook, a historian of China whose work has focused on the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) but extends to issues that span the period from the Mongol occupation of China in the 13th century to the Japanese occupation of China in the 20th. According to his new book "“The Price of Collapse: The Little Ice Age and the Fall of Ming China," Ming dynasty was one of the most crucial and important periods for China and the world. In addition, it can teach us something about modern day international affairs, too.