The Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road were the important accesses for the exchanges of herbal medicine between the primary traditional medical systems in the ancient world,which also are the strategic links between the areas with herbal medicine widely used and the most active markets for herbs at present. This article focuses on the foreign medicinal resources introduced to traditional Chinese medicine( TCM) in China. As new resources of Chinese Materia Medica( CMM),the four basic conditions should be required,which are the clear origin,the safety and effectiveness in clinical,the efficacy and properties described with theory of TCM.Medicinal property is the key scientific problem of foreign medicinal resources introduced to TCM. The research strategies include three aspects. Medicinal properties of foreign medicinal resources will be deduced and analyzed across multiple medical systems by solving the difference depending on finding the similarities of traditional medical systems. The medicinal properties-efficacies of foreign medicinal resources will be identified by identifying Xiang and selecting similar CMM. And Xiang-properties-efficacies of foreign medicinal resources will be researched under formulae environment using medicinal properties.
Keywords: foreign medicinal resources; medicinal properties; the belt and road initiative; traditional Chinese medicine.