A reveller is hit by an orange as she participates in the annual “Battle of the Oranges” in the northern city of Ivrea, Italy on February 19, 2023. (Photo by Massimo Pinca/Reuters)

Sally Fitzgibbons of Australia competes in the Women's Final of the 2012 Australian Surfing Open on February 19, 2012 in Manly, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Models present Victoria Secret Fantasy Bras priced at $2 million each during a media preview of the Singapore JewelFest in Singapore October 8, 2015. The festival which is in its 13th year, sees over 42 Asian designers participating and over $300 million worth of jewels for sale. It opens from October 9 to 18. (Photo by Edgar Su/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.

A student falls asleep as she holds a book containing a portrait of China's late chairman Mao Zedong during a lesson at the Democracy Elementary and Middle School in Sitong town, Henan province December 3, 2013. In a remote part of central China, the day starts at the Democracy Elementary and Middle School with a pre-dawn jog, some revolutionary songs and then an activity long since forgotten at other schools: reciting quotations from Mao Zedong's famed “Little Red Book”. While the ruling Communist Party that Mao led continues to hold him in esteem as the leader of the Communist Revolution, his radical policies and teachings have been largely shelved since his death in 1976 in favour of a pro-market approach that has turned China from a backwater into the world's second biggest economy. The 120th anniversary of Mao's birth is on December 26, 2013. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters)

A Thai performer puts his head inside a crocodile's mouth during a media preview performance as part of preparation to reopen Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo in Samut Prakan province, Thailand, 19 March 2024. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA)

An AI Gamer “Q56” robot plays a video game during a demonstration at the Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. booth at the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies in Chiba, Japan on October 16, 2019. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg)

Belgium's Jules Hesters (L) falls as he competes in the Men's Elimination race during the first day of the UEC European Track Cycling Championships at the Omnisport indoor arena in Apeldoorn, on January 10, 2024. (Photo by John Thys/AFP Photo)