Vincent Yu is a multiple award winner who won Honorable Mention in the 2013 Photographer of the Year category for Pictures of the Year International. Photo: A statue of Hotei Buddha sits in the debris in the tsunami-destroyed town of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan Friday, April 1, 2011. (Photo by Vincent Yu/AP Photo)

“Don't Leave Any Food On Your Plate”. The giraffes at Nairobi's Giraffe Manor are totally at home with humans. They will eat out of your hand, or even off your plate. Photo location: Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo and caption by Gavin Werbeloff/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Robert The Bruce's army from The Clanranald Trust during a rehearsal for the Battle of Bannockburn re-enactment performance which will be staged at the Bannockburn Live Event in Bannockburn, the 700th anniversary of the battle, on June 27, 2014. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

“The V-30 Warhawk was designed by Blackshaw Avionics as a long-range fighter and was primarily used by the Arcadian Air Force for escort duties. The plane pictured is the “Spirit of Freedom” and was one of the four planes that escorted the Arcadian Royal Airship during and after the Great War. The three other fighters were the “Spirit of Hope”, the “Spirit of Justice” and the “Spirit of Destiny”. All pilots were hand-picked by the Head of Airborne Forces and included some of the very finest pilots in the Kingdom. The crew consisted of one pilot and one gunner although both cabins were fitted so that if either crew member was killed the other could take over their duties. Each Warhawk was fitted with four Haverlock “Banshee” engines and four 24mm machine guns”. (Photo and comment by Jon Hall)

Tao Xiangli gets out of his homemade submarine after operating it in a lake on the outskirts of Beijing September 3, 2009. Amateur inventor Tao, 34, made a fully functional submarine, which has a periscope, depth control tanks, electric motors, manometer, and two propellers, from old oil barrels and tools which he bought at a second-hand market. He took 2 years to invent and test the submarine which costs 30,000 yuan ($4,385). (Photo by Christina Hu/Reuters)

Do you think that history is a science? Well, not exactly. First, and foremost, history is the state's “legend of wars”, it’s official regalia. Of course, public historians are not interested in scientific truth – quite the opposite. In this respect, any attempt to present a state’s history as altruistic and benevolent as possible is welcomed and encouraged – as opposed to any revisionism attempts that may be more accurate. In this matter, Chinese have surpassed us all – they revised in highly creative manner (but rather shamelessly) the technology already invented by Europeans, a process that resulted in oldest state on the planet. Here is an interesting paradox: ask any sinologist about the Middle Kingdom during second century B.C., and he will describe it to you in such a vivid manner as if he has been living there all his life – but as soon as you will ask him to describe Chinese history in the 19-20th centuries… let's say, his eagerness will be greatly diminished. However, we will discuss China in a different article, and in the meantime we will try to understand how exactly historic “legend of wars” is formed and functions – based on a specific and well-known example. A great example is Ferdinand Magellan's first voyage around the world.

Dancers wearing traditional attires take part in the 7th Annual Ingoma Dance Competition organised by The Natal Playhouse theatre in Durban on March 21, 2017. The Ingoma Dance is considered one of the most purist forms of traditional Zulu dance. (Photo by Rajesh Jantilal/AFP Photo)

A group of fashionable nonagenarians pose for a photo in Pengzhou, Sichuan, China on October 12, 2016. (Photo by Rex Features/Shutterstock)