# Did Aristotle exist? China targets pseudo-history myths claiming West stole civilisations > Source: > Published: 2026-08-14 01:00:17+00:00 # Did Aristotle exist? China targets pseudo-history myths claiming West stole civilisations Zhejiang agency says pseudo-historical claims – made worse by AI – reflect ignorance and fracture social cognition [Alcott Wei](/author/alcott-wei)in Beijing [Aristotle and Ancient Greece never existed](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3291875/chinese-classicists-battling-save-greek-roman-works-online-conspiracy-theories?module=inline&pgtype=article). In a post on Wednesday, “Zhejiang Propaganda” – a social media account affiliated with the Zhejiang provincial publicity department – warned about the rise of the “pseudo-historical school” online. The school promotes conspiracy theories that deny Western history and claim key achievements of Western civilisation actually originated in China. “[The] pseudo-historical school of thought has become a negative ideological trend that spreads through the internet and fractures social cognition,” the post cautioned. **“** Such claims appear to promote national confidence**,** but in reality they reflect ignorance of exchanges between civilisations. In essence, they represent another form of cultural [insecurity].” The concept of “cultural confidence” became a key part of the “Four Confidences” promoted by President Xi Jinping in 2016 – confidence in the path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and was later written into the Communist Party constitution.