Ethnic Wa performer dressed as United Wa State Army (UWSA) soldiers perform a traditional dance in Mongmao, Wa territory in northeast Myanmar October 1, 2016. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

Palestinians carry their belongings as they prepare to flee Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 13, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

South Korean students pose for a selfie following a traditional coming-of-age ceremony at Namsan hanok village in Seoul on May 15, 2017. The Coming of Age Day is the day to celebrate and encourage the youth who have reached the age of 20, which is considered the beginning of adulthood. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

A member of an Egungun masquerade group, his identity obscured under his ornate costume in Ouidah, Benin on March 13, 2019. The exclusively male practitioners, found across Yoruba culture, use dance and spinning in the belief that they will summon the spirits of ancestors. (Photo by Massimo Rumi/Barcroft Images)

A displaced Palestinian child plays amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on November 14, 2024. (Photo by Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

Yuanlei Liao, the singer of hardcore band called Thank Ray wears a read scarf after performing on the stage of Mao Live House during the club's last public concert night in central Beijing, China April 23, 2016. Mao Live House, a prominent live rock music venue in Beijing, shut its doors on the weekend, the latest closure to hit China's rock music scene. Owner Li Chi said the club, popular among fans of punk, metal and alternative rock since it opened nine years ago, was forced to close due to tighter rules on live performances. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

A man watches Israeli Air Force planes fly over the Mediterranean Sea from a beach at Tel Aviv during an aerial show as part of celebrations for Israel's Independence Day to mark the 66th anniversary of the creation of the state, May 6, 2014. (Photo by Nir Elias/Reuters)

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.