Having a baby in her unmarried state would have brought shame on the family in China, so she probably kept my existence a secret.

In every state the numbers of unmarried couples, childless households and single-person households are growing faster than those comprised of married people with children, finds the 2010 census.

Monastics are distinguished from laymen in that the latter are permitted to live in a state of matrimony, while the former choose to remain unmarried.