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.

Brick-carving featuring Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) maids performing musical instruments is seen at the Chinese Music History Museum in Xian University of Architecture and Technology on September 27, 2008 in Xian of Shaanxi Province, China. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

Somalis remove the body of a man killed in a blast in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, October 14, 2017. A huge explosion from a truck bomb has killed at least 20 people in Somalia's capital, police said Saturday, as shaken residents called it the most powerful blast they'd heard in years. (Photo by Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP Photo)

Photographer David Emitt Adams creates tintypes on discarded cans he collects from the Sonoran Desert. In his artist statement, Adams says that some are more than four decades old, which have earned a deep reddish-brown, rusty coloration. (Photo by David Emitt Adams)

Clarice Hui and her Corgi dog Padfoot enjoying the hot weather in London Fields park, east London on May 19, 2020, after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown. (Photo by Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)

Indigenous nurses from the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health (Sesai) of the Arapiuns ethnic group and Tapuia ethnic groups perform a rapid COVID-19 test on Chief Domingos from the Arapium tribe on the banks of the lower Tapajos River in the municipality of Santarem in western Para on July 19, 2020. (Photo by Tarso Sarraf/AFP Photo)

Revelers look at a cellphone during the annual street block party know as “Explode Coracao” on the third day of Carnival on February 19, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. According to the São Paulo City Council, during Carnival week more than 500 street blocks (blocos de rua) are held and more than 15 million people are expected to participate in them. Created in 2017, Explode Coracao is one of the most popular street blocks and attracted 150,000 revelers in its last edition, before the pandemic, in 2020. (Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images)

An empty beer bottle stands in front of the buildings of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany, Friday, May 21, 2021. All people gathering on the square for drinks and food left when the police started checking if they are abiding by the coronavirus restrictions. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)