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.

Lamas dance during the “Tiaoqian” praying ceremony at the Youning Temple on February 8, 2009 in Huzhu County of Qinghai Province, China. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

A performer dances at a housing exhibition in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, September 27, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

A dancer poses for a photograph as part of the “Dance as Art” photo project in Times Square in New York, on September 22, 2014. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

Revellers pose during the Street Parade dance music event in Zurich, Switzerland August 13, 2016. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Graduates dance as they take part in a “Last school bell” ceremony at a school in Minsk, Belarus on May 30, 2018. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

An Indian woman smeared in colors dances during Holi festival in Mumbai, India, Monday, March 29, 2021. (Photo by Rajanish Kakade/AP Photo)