In the context of the current era when different civilizations are learning from each other， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） needs to continuously draw the essence from modern scientific and technological civilization for creative inheritance and innovative development. It is essential to master the classic texts of TCM to solidify its theoretical foundation， while also read extensively to broaden the academic horizons. TCM's inheritance and innovation should be integrated with the current era's context and social reality， and delve into the essence of TCM's academic experience and clinical practice. Emphasis should be placed on the inheritance of original TCM thinking， and return to the original image creation and transformation. Using image thinking as the main approach， and combined it with modern complex systems science and front-edge methodologies， we could elaborate the TCM theories such as correspondence between nature and human， five circuits and six qi， constitution and endowment， and harmony of body and spirit. The training of academic talents must be at the forefront， closely follow the new trends of the development of contemporary scientific and technological civilization， identify the “pain points” of discipline development， focus on the key areas for improvement， and seek the highlights of academic research. There should be a courage to question and propose new insights， construct new concepts， establish new theories， transform the weakness in original theoretical innovation， and enrich the evolving connotation of TCM.