The space shuttle Endeavour is transported to the California Science Center in Exposition Park from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian)

A woman photographs a Norwegian spruce Christmas tree from Oslo after it was lit at Trafalgar Square in central London, December 4, 2014. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

Climbers place a huge 80x80 metres (262x262 feet) Swiss national flag on the western face of the north-eastern Swiss landmark Mount Saentis, Switzerland on July 31, 2018. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Paul Poirier of Canada and Marjorie Lajoie of Canada after training before the Figure Skating Ice Dance – Rhythm Dance at Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China on February 12, 2022. (Photo by Aleksandra Szmigiel/Reuters)

A Canada goose is seen in Roosevelt Island of New York City, United States on April 11, 2022. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Composer, harpist and singer Esther Swift alongside her Italian Salvi pedal harp during a photocall ahead of her upcoming tour, at the Forth Bridge in North Queensferry, Scotland on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Ms Swift will tour across Scotland solo this month with a programme of original compositions and traditional works. (Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)

A worker covers mounds of rice with a giant hat-shaped bamboo cone in a field in Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh on September 21, 2023 after they have been dried in the scoring sun. (Photo by Joy Saha/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

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.