Mai Ling and her family were Chinese peasants who were hired to help Carter's expedition steal terracotta soldiers from the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi in 1928. After they found the soldiers, Carter, desiring to keep the find a secret, killed the other three members of Mai Ling's family, but she escaped. She and Edward Grainger were rescued by the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough, and Mai Ling was inhabited by the spirit of one of the soldiers. The Doctor thought the spirit would be safe in Mai Ling. (PROSE: Falling from Xi'an)
In 1933, the Seventh Doctor recruited Edward to help rescue Mai Ling from Zhong Ma. She was rescued and reunited with her husband. (PROSE: Log 384)