A woman argues as Belarus police block a street during an opposition rally in Minsk, Belarus, Saturday, March 25, 2017. Over the past two months, protests have broken out across the country of 9.5 million, sometimes attracting thousands – initially they were focused on the labor law but have grown to encompass calls for the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko, whom critics call Europe's last dictator. (Photo by Sergei Grits/AP Photo)

Arrow sports his new elastic booties at a PetSmart in Tempe, Ariz. on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. Phoenix radio station KSLX handed out the protective coverings to protect dogs' paws from the hot pavement, as temperatures in Phoenix are forecasted to hit 120 degrees (48°C). (Photo by Angie Wang/AP Photo)

Born in 1958 in Abbazia, Italy, Frank Horvat is considered one of the founding fathers of French fashion photography. Frank Horvat: Storia di un Fotografo is on at Palazzo Chiablese Musei Reali, Turin, until 16 June. Here: Prostitutes, Bois de Boulogne, 1956. (Photo by Frank Horvat/The Guardian)

A dead crocodile is seen on Huangsha Seafood Market in Guangzhou, Guandong Province, China, 22 January 2018. Tsukiji Market of China or Huangsha Seafood Market is biggest one in Southern China and one of the biggest in China, as there are literally hundreds of different varieties of fish and seafood scattered throughout the market. (Photo by Aleksandar Plavevski/EPA/EFE)

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 chained male monkey in a costume and wearing a toy mask performs at a street in Depok, West Java, Indonesia, 30 September 2021. A performing monkey in a street, known as “Topeng Monyet” (lit. Monkey Mask), is a popular form of cheap entertainment in Indonesia, especially on the island of Java. (Photo by Adi Weda/EPA/EFE)

In this March 13, 2015 photo, Yohan, 4, from left, Cristian, 7, and Angelo, 6, playfully toss coca leaves into the air, singing: “I have a lot of money, look at all the money I have”, in La Mar, province of Ayacucho, Peru. Hauling cocaine out of the remote valley is about the only way to earn decent cash in this region where a farmhand earns less than $10 a day. Beyond extinguishing young lives, the practice has packed Peru's highland prisons with cocaine backpackers while their bosses evade incarceration. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

Ukrainian artist Dariya Marchenko works on a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin named “The Face of War” which is made out of 5,000 cartridges brought from the frontline in eastern Ukraine, in Kiev, July 23, 2015. The portrait will be presented along with a novel which will tell personal stories of six people involved in this project including Daria's own story and stories of people who helped her to collect shells from the frontline. Daria Marchenko calls her art approach philosophic symbolism where every element has its hidden meaning. In her works cartridges mean human's life that was brutally ended. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)