A painting of Chinese President Xi Jinping holding an umbrella is seen on the toilet wall in a guesthouse in Hong Kong December 30, 2014. Set up in a small apartment in the Causeway Bay shopping district, the guesthouse that gives what it calls “Umbrella Revolution Occupation Experience” charges guest HK$100 (US$13) a night to stay in a tent surrounded by pro-democracy banners, a cardboard cutout of President Xi Jinping holding a yellow umbrella, and serve toilet paper printed with the face of embattled leader of Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

A German special anti-tank gun is ready to fire during the army maneuvers in Silesia, Poland, on September 22, 1928. (Photo by AP Photo)

A nurse consoles herself with a box of chocolates as she reads a paper-back thriller. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Circa 1955

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.

Children in a Hong Kong refugee resettlement area watch as former Vice President Richard Nixon shows them his badminton service. Nixon visited Hong Kong, April 4, 1964, during his tour of countries in the Far East. (Photo by AP Photo)

Models dance during the presentation of Stella McCartney's Spring-Summer 2017 ready-to-wear fashion collection presented Monday, October 3, 2016 in Paris. (Photo by Francois Mori/AP Photo)

Afghan firefighters spray water on a U.S. armoured vehicle after a suicide attack on the outskirts of Jalalabad, January 5, 2015. A suicide attacker targeted a U.S. convoy on the outskirts of Jalalabad on Monday but so far no causalities have been reported yet, provincial spokesman Ahmadzia Abdulzai said. (Photo by Reuters/Parwiz)

A visiitor bungee jumps during an outdoor festival to celebrate German Unity Day on the 21st anniversary of German reunification on October 3, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. German Unity Day is a national holiday and marks the day West Germany and East Germany were reunited in 1990 following the collapse of the Iron Curtain. (Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images)