Wild boars eat bread as baits fed by officers from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department in Hong Kong, Wednesday, November 17, 2021. Hong Kong authorities this week captured and euthanized seven wild boars to reduce their numbers in urban areas, following an increasing number of boar attacks and after one bit a policeman last week. (Photo by Lam Chun Tung/The Initium Media via AP Photo)

Janus, a two-headed Greek turtle named after the Roman god with two heads is testing a kind of skateboard to rehabilitate one day ahead of her 25th birthday at the Natural History Museum in Geneva on September 2, 2022. (Photo by Pierre Albouy/Reuters)

A young sloth named Gloria, that was rescued after being stolen from the wild destined for trafficking, peeks out of the box it is being taken to be released at the city's Botanical Garden in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, March 13, 2023. Gloria was cared for by the Free Life Institute NGO that rehabilitates injured wildlife found in the surrounding Rio area and returns them, when possible, back to the wild. Those that are too injured to be released are sent to other rehab centers or sanctuaries to live out their lives in protected environments. (Photo by Bruna Prado/AP Photo)

A blue observation point contrasts with the orange winter foliage of the metasequoia trees – dawn redwoods – at Huanghai Forest Park on the east coast of China in the second decade of December 2024. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

Edinburgh mask maker Lorraine Pritchard on Sunday, January 28, 2024 alongside some of her Venetian masks which will be worn and displayed at the Venice Carnival, which starts on Saturday February 3. Lorraine studied model making at Glasgow College of Building and Printing and Venetian mask making in Florence, Italy. She travels to Venice each year to be a “mask” herself, wearing different masks she has designed as a live exhibit of her work. (Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)

“Just hanging out”. As full autumn hits the valley of Hallingdal in Norway, this bear chills out in a tree which seems to barely cover its weight. Photo location: Flå, Hallingdal, Norway. (Photo and caption by Jorgen Tharaldsen/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A couple stands next to a poster depicting Dutch politician Geert Wilders and Russian President Vladimir Putin kissing, at a metro station in Amsterdam April 3, 2016. (Photo by Cris Toala Olivares/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.