Samira Ahmed wears Sandy from head to toe for the Sandy Liang show during New York Fashion Week (NYFW) in New York, New York on September 8, 2024. (Photo by Sara Konradi for The Washington Post)

A doll holding a replica of a AK47 gun is set on a tailpiece of a rocket on a roadside in a village near the town of Avdiivka, Donetsk region, on June 28, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Genya Savilov/AFP Photo)

Presidential candidate Javier Milei arrives at the Teatro Colón opera house with his girlfriend, Fatima Florez, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, November 17, 2023. Milei will face Economy Minister Sergio Massa in a runoff election on Nov. 19. (Photo by Ramiro Souto/AP Photo)

A visitor interacts with deer at Nara Park in Nara on January 27, 2025. As peckish deer chase delighted tourists in Japan's temple-dotted Nara Park, a quiet but dedicated team of litter-pickers patrols the stone paths, collecting plastic waste that threatens the animals' health. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)

Actress Dakyta Daniela Aita rolls herself on the red carpet after its is rolled out ahead of the 96th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 6, 2024. The 96th Annual Academy Awards will be held on March 10. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP Photo)

Tony the ten-year-old tawny owl tucks himself on December 8, 2025 into a Christmas tree at the Scottish Owl Centre, West Lothian, where he was hatched and raised. (Photo by Katielee Arrowsmith/South West News Service)

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.

Photo taken on September 19, 2015 shows a baby Brazilian opossum at the “Parque Estoril” zoo in Sao Bernardo do Campo of Sao Paulo, Brazil. According to local press, the “Parque Estoril” zoo houses currently 23 orphan cubs of wild animals rescued in the south region of Sao Paulo, victims of illegal wildlife trade or problems caused by urban growth. According to the zoo, all the animals arrived in the last three months, and many of them, not being able to be reintroduced to their natural habitat, will be used as examples in environmental education classes. (Photo by Rahel Patrasso/Xinhua via ZUMA Wire)