A Rohingya refugee girl named Rufia Begum, aged 9, poses for a photograph as she wears thanaka paste at Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, March 31, 2018. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

Coast and marine winner: Storm Gull (Lesser black-backed gull), New Haven, East Sussex. (Photo by Craig Denford/British Wildlife Photography Awards)

A model takes photographs during the World Bodypainting Festival in Poertschach, Austria, July 1, 2016. (Photo by Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters)

The Queen Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) is reflected in a puddle as a cyclist rides by in London, on 27 June 2016. Britain began preparations to leave the European Union on Monday but said it would not be rushed into a quick exit, as markets plunged in the wake of a seismic referendum despite attempts to calm jitters. (Photo by Leon Neal/AFP Photo)

Makeup artists Kamila Wysocka and Alexis Jackson from Florida, point at another costumed person as they eat dinner in their zombie makeup at ComicCon in New York, on Oktober 10, 2013. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

P.S. All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture (if available; this principle works anywhere on the site AvaxNews)

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.

A man plays in front of a wave crashing into Beirut's Corniche, a seaside promenade, as high winds sweep through Lebanon ahead of an impending storm January 6, 2015. (Photo by Jamal Saidi/Reuters)