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.

Soap Bubble Structures by Kym Cox. Bubbles optimise space and minimise their surface area for a given volume of air. This phenomenon makes them a useful tool in many areas of research, in particular, materials science and “packing” – how things fit together. Bubble walls drain under gravity, thin at the top, thick at the bottom, which interferes with travelling lightwaves to create bands of colour. Black spots show the wall is too thin for interference colours, indicating the bubble is about to burst. (Photo by Kym Cox/2019 Science Photographer of the Year/RPS)

5-year-old Rina Kumari rubs her eye while cracking stones on the banks of Mahananda river in Siliguri, northeast India, March 5, 2005. Over 400 million people in India live below the internationally agreed poverty line (living on less than US $1 per day). According to estimates, several hundred thousand children work as labourers and beg on the streets in India. (Photo by Desmond Boylan/Reuters)

A picture taken on October 17, 2017 shows Madame Tussauds museum's wax figure of US President displayed along the East Side Gallery section of the Wall in Berlin during a photo session. The wax figure will be displayed at Madame Tussauds museum in Berlin from October 20, 2017. (Photo by Jens Kalaene/AFP Photo/DPA)

The body of one of several U.S. soldiers who were executed after being captured by North Korean troops just south of Seoul in early July 1950. (Photo by AP Photo)

Soldiers try to attach the balloon to their car, June 1944. (Photo by Jared Enos/Mediadrumworld.com)

Final match Soccer Humanoid Kid Size between DARwIn vs. AUTMan at the World Championship finals of RoboCup 2013 in Eindhoven (NL). (Photo by Bart van Overbeeke)

Roof-topping enthusiast Daniel Lau takes a selfie with high-rise buildings down below as he stands on the top of a skyscraper in Hong Kong, China on August 15, 2017. A craze that began in Russia has now taken hold in Hong Kong, one of the world's most vertical cities. Mr Lau said he had been inspired by Russian climbers and that he was unafraid of the vertiginous heights he scales. (Photo by ImagineChina/Rex Features/Shutterstock)